As all of you would have already known, there are both pros and cons to GM food. There are 2 tasks to be completed by the end of the lesson (A and B). A) Individually, go online and bookmark a useful website that discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of GM food.
Step by step guide on how to bookmark and share: 1)Go to google 2) Type in your search subject eg: GM food, advantages and disadvantages of GM food. 3) Select a wbsite that you found especially useful, copy the URL 4) go to the Diigo group page, click on post a bookmark, paste the URL and post it so that all the members in the group will be able to view it.
B) After you have bookmarked and posted the website, choose any 3 articles bookmarked by your friends and explain 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages of GM food and post them in this discussion page .
One of the major advantages of genetically modified foods is that they help in controlling the occurrence of certain diseases. There are some foods that cause allergy to people when consumed. By modifying the DNA system of these foods, the properties causing these allergies are eliminated successfully.
Pros : 1.When the DNA of the food is modified, people with allergies may consume the GM food. Therefore, people which previously cannot consume those food may consume it now because of the modified DNA. 2.GM food can grow faster even under land which is unsuitable for the growth of crops. Therefore, productivity increases, providing the population with more food. 3.GM food is said to have higher nutrition values than food which farmers grow traditionally and contain more minerals and vitamins than those found in traditionally grown foods. Other than this, these foods also taste better.and contain more minerals and vitamins than those found in traditionally grown foods. Other than this, these foods also taste better. 4.It is said that GM food can have a longer shelf life than the non-GM food. So, food can be stored and would not be rotten as quick as those non-GM food. Cons : 1.Consuming GM food can have harmful effects on the human body. It is believed that consumption of these genetically engineered foods can cause the development of diseases which are immune to antibiotics.As the health effects are unknown, many people prefer to stay away from genetically modified foods. 2.Experts are of the opinion that with the increase of genetically modified foods, developing countries would start depending more on industrial countries because it is likely that the food production would be controlled by them in the time to come. 3.Many religious and cultural communities are against genetically modified foods because they see it as an unnatural way of producing foods. Many people are also not comfortable with the idea of transferring animal genes into plants and vice versa. Also, this cross-pollination method can cause damage to other organisms that thrive in the environment.
B) Disadvantages. Give rise to 'super weeds'. 'Super weeds' dominate the fields and affect main crops. Genes from the genetically modified food could be transferred to the pests which can make them become resistant to the pesticides and the pesticides become useless. Geneticly modified corn pollen has affected the Monarch butterfly caterpillars horrifyingly. It harms the Monarch larva and brought the Monarch butterfly population down.
Advantages. Crops - Enhanced taste and quality. Animals - Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency. Environment - "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides. Society - Increased food security for growing populations. Can be modified to give better nutrition (a gene added to produce vitamins that developing countries need, Vit C, D, etc).
One of the major advantages of genetically modified foods is that they help in controlling the occurrence of certain diseases. There are some foods that cause allergy to people when consumed. By modifying the DNA system of these foods, the properties causing these allergies are eliminated successfully. It is also said that genetically modified foods grow faster than the foods that are grown in the traditional manner. Due to this, productivity increases, providing the population with more food. Apart from this, it is claimed that genetically modified foods are a boon in places which experience frequent droughts, or where the soil is incompetent for agriculture, due to which it is difficult to grow normal crops. Though the seeds of genetically modified foods are quite expensive, the total cost of production is said to be lesser than the production of traditional crops. The main reason for this is that these foods have natural resistance towards pests and insects and so not much pesticides and insecticides have to be sprayed on them. This reduces the necessity of exposing genetically modified crops to harmful pesticides and insecticides, making these foods free from chemicals and environment friendly as well. Genetically modified foods are said to be high in nutrients, and contain more minerals and vitamins than those found in traditionally grown foods. Other than this, these foods also taste better. Another reason for people opting for genetically engineered foods is that they have an increased shelf life and so there is less fear of the foods getting rotten quickly
GM food might have allergic reaction which could be exposed to grave danger or some GM food might be resistant to antibiotics which virus will be immune thus alleviating this danger. The genes of the crops might spread to weeds and cause having "superweeds" which is immune to herbicides and will affect the crops. Gm food which contains protein toxic to insect pest. However, exposing toxic to pests will help the pest develop resistance and thus render pesticides useless. GM food has resistance to pest unlike normal crops. GM food also can be resistant to cold and diseases which could destroy normal crops. It contains more nutrition vitamins and minerals.
ADVANTAGES: -Crop losses from insect pests can be staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries. Farmers typically use many tons of chemical pesticides annually. Consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with pesticides because of potential health hazards, and run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can poison the water supply and cause harm to the environment. Growing GM foods such as B.t. corn can help eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market
-Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings
-Medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and sometimes require special storage conditions not readily available in third world countries. Researchers are working to develop edible vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes16, 17. These vaccines will be much easier to ship, store and administer than traditional injectable vaccines.
DISADVANTAGES -Genetically manipulated organisms could cross with other organisms. This could cause unpredictable and irreversible changes to the ecosystem. This is however a possible consequence, nobody knows what will happen. Because of this many people have the opinion that genetic manipulation should be forbidden.
- What will happen to mankind if we start to apply genetic manipulation at a large scale, especially if we start to apply eugenetics. Nobody knows what the effects on man will be and how long this can go well.
- Is it allowed to do with animals what everyone wants? Some people believe that animals have their own nature and mankind should in principle respect this. They believe that genetic manipulation of animals should be restricted as much as possible.
Advantages: 1. As more GM crops can be grown on relatively small parcels of land, GM crops are an answer to feeding growing world populations 2. More environment friendly as they require less herbicides and pesticides 3.GM crops are more productive and have a larger yield 4. Pest resistance: Since a lot of crops are lost because of pests, which lead to starvation in people and financial loss for formers. To prevent pests from destroying crops, farmers use a lot of pesticides. But people do not want to eat foods with pesticides. So, this is where GM foods come in. some foods like corn do not need pesticides and this also reduces the cost of growing the crop. 5. Herbicide tolerance: Herbicides are often used by farmers to kill weeds. This is not only expensive, but also a time-consuming process. Genetically modified crop plants do not need herbicide tolerant and this means that the crop would need lesser amount of herbicides. 6. Disease resistance: Many types of bacteria, fungi, and viruses can cause plant diseases. Biologists who are working on genetically modified plants that will be disease resistant. This way plants won't get destroyed due to disease. 7. Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance: GM foods include crops that can withstand high salt content in the soil or long periods of drought. This way, farmers can grow crops in inhospitable places too. 8. Nutrition: Malnutrition is a common problem in many countries. Poor people often rely on a single crop for most of their nutrition requirements. So, through genetic engineering, scientists are trying to make crops more nutritious, so that people are able to get nourishment through one kind of food. 9. Pharmaceuticals: Certain vaccines are being induced in GM foods, so that people are able to get their medical needs through foods.
Pros of GM food * Increases income for farmers. --Crops have to be thrown away,resulting in loss of income for the farmers because of low rainfall, and other problems every year.Scientist created GM food crops that are more resistant to such conditions. With fewer GM food crops being damaged, farmers will be able to enjoy an increase in their output and income. * Increases in food supply. --GM food crops are able to produce higher output than non-GM food crops. The increase in food supply leads to a decline in food prices, making food more affordable in LDCs. This help reduce the problems of malnutrition and improve people's health. * Improves nutritional value of food --In the past, the lack of Vitamin A in LDCs has resulted in 1 million children dying every year and 350 000 becoming blind. The introduction og Golden Rice(GM rice) in LDCs can help to reduce the number of malnutition cases.
Cons of GM food *Potential Health Risk --Many people fear the potential health risk of consuming GM food. Hence people who are allergic to lectin fear that they may have allergic reaction if they
The advantages of GM food are: (1)GM Food help in controlling the occurrence of certain diseases. There are some foods that cause allergy to people when consumed. By modifying the DNA system of these foods, the properties causing these allergies can be eliminated successfully.
(2)GM food grows faster than foods that are grown in the traditional manner. Due to this, productivity increases, providing the population with more food.
(3)GM food are said to be high in nutrients, and contain more minerals and vitamins than those found in traditionally grown foods. Other than this, these foods also taste better. Another reason for people opting for genetically engineered foods is that they have an increased shelf life and so there is less fear of the foods getting rotten quickly.
The disadvantages of GM food are: (1)GM food may have harmful effects on the human body. Consumption of these genetically engineered foods can cause the development of diseases which are immune to antibiotics. People who consume such foods may also have high chances of developing cancer.
GM food Saves the use of toxic chemicals. GM crops can be made resistant to pests, so pesticides do not need to be sprayed on them. This is also better on the environment! Prevents wasted crops. If pests cannot eat the crops, nothing goes to waste. Therefore, farmers make more money! It could potentially solve hunger. Many people agree that there is not enough food in the world to feed everybody. As genetically modified foods increase the yields of crops, more food is produced by farmers. Of course, others argue that there is enough food to feed everyone, but it is unequally distributed. Others argue the GM crops do not produce higher yields. We can begin to grow foods in different conditions. For instance, strawberries can be genetically engineered to grow in frosts. Other foods that grow in cold climates could be engineered to grow in hot climates (such as Africa where much of the continent does not have enough food). Some foods can be genetically modifies to contain higher amounts of important vitamins and minerals. Vitamin A deficiencies cause blindness. In Africa, 500,000 go blind each year. If rice can be modified to contain more vitamin A, the amount of people going blind will decrease. As more research is done the technology is bound to improve. Scientists are already considering genetic modification to make fish, nuts and plants grow faster.
Benefits: -Crops Enhanced taste and quality Reduced maturation time Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides New products and growing techniques Animals Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk Improved animal health and diagnostic methods Environment "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides Conservation of soil, water, and energy Bioprocessing for forestry products Better natural waste management More efficient processing Society Increased food security for growing populations Controversies Safety Potential human health impacts, including allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects Potential environmental impacts, including: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity Access and Intellectual Property Domination of world food production by a few companies Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries Biopiracy, or foreign exploitation of natural resources Ethics Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa Stress for animal Labeling Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States) Mixing GM crops with non-GM products confounds labeling attempts Society New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries
Advantages of genetically modified food: 1)Genetic modification can produce larger, hardier, tastier, and more nutritious foods. 2)Nowadays, plants can be genetically modified to be better able to survive abiotic extremes, such as frosty temperatures, heat waves, droughts, and poor soil chemistries. 3)Plants have also been genetically modified to better tolerate fungi and parisitic insects.
Disadvantages of genetically modified food 1)Some GM species may increase allergenicity. For instance, an allergenic trait has been transferred unintentionally from the Brazil nut into genetically engineered soybeans. 2)GM crops may reduce biodiversity not only within their own species, but among wildlife living nearby. 3)GM plants may hybridize with wild plants even at great distances (as when pollen is transferred by wind), reducing the proportion of wild alleles in the native plants.
The advantages of GM food is that first , GM crops are more productive and have a larger yield. second , it offers more nutritional value and better flavor and third , it is also more environment friendly as they require less herbicides and pesticides .
The disadvantages of GM food is that first , it is a harm to other organisms. For example genes and their effect included in a crop may turn out to be poisonous to insects (monarch butterfly poisoned by GMO corns) , second , it causes health problems and third , the taste of GMOs are not as good or "natural".
started by Najmon Nisha on 17 Feb 11
As all of you would have already known, there are both pros and cons to GM food. There are 2 tasks to be completed by the end of the lesson (A and B).
A) Individually, go online and bookmark a useful website that discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of GM food.
Step by step guide on how to bookmark and share:
1)Go to google
2) Type in your search subject eg: GM food, advantages and disadvantages of GM food.
3) Select a wbsite that you found especially useful, copy the URL
4) go to the Diigo group page, click on post a bookmark, paste the URL and post it so that all the members in the group will be able to view it.
B) After you have bookmarked and posted the website, choose any 3 articles bookmarked by your friends and explain 3 advantages and 3 disadvantages of GM food and post them in this discussion page .
1.When the DNA of the food is modified, people with allergies may consume the GM food. Therefore, people which previously cannot consume those food may consume it now because of the modified DNA.
2.GM food can grow faster even under land which is unsuitable for the growth of crops. Therefore, productivity increases, providing the population with more food.
3.GM food is said to have higher nutrition values than food which farmers grow traditionally
and contain more minerals and vitamins than those found in traditionally grown foods. Other than this, these foods also taste better.and contain more minerals and vitamins than those found in traditionally grown foods. Other than this, these foods also taste better.
4.It is said that GM food can have a longer shelf life than the non-GM food. So, food can be stored and would not be rotten as quick as those non-GM food.
Cons :
1.Consuming GM food can have harmful effects on the human body. It is believed that consumption of these genetically engineered foods can cause the development of diseases which are immune to antibiotics.As the health effects are unknown, many people prefer to stay away from genetically modified foods.
2.Experts are of the opinion that with the increase of genetically modified foods, developing countries would start depending more on industrial countries because it is likely that the food production would be controlled by them in the time to come.
3.Many religious and cultural communities are against genetically modified foods because they see it as an unnatural way of producing foods. Many people are also not comfortable with the idea of transferring animal genes into plants and vice versa. Also, this cross-pollination method can cause damage to other organisms that thrive in the environment.
Disadvantages.
Give rise to 'super weeds'.
'Super weeds' dominate the fields and affect main crops.
Genes from the genetically modified food could be transferred to the pests which can make them become resistant to the pesticides and the pesticides become useless.
Geneticly modified corn pollen has affected the Monarch butterfly caterpillars horrifyingly. It harms the Monarch larva and brought the Monarch butterfly population down.
Advantages.
Crops - Enhanced taste and quality.
Animals - Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency.
Environment - "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides.
Society - Increased food security for growing populations.
Can be modified to give better nutrition (a gene added to produce vitamins that developing countries need, Vit C, D, etc).
It is also said that genetically modified foods grow faster than the foods that are grown in the traditional manner. Due to this, productivity increases, providing the population with more food. Apart from this, it is claimed that genetically modified foods are a boon in places which experience frequent droughts, or where the soil is incompetent for agriculture, due to which it is difficult to grow normal crops.
Though the seeds of genetically modified foods are quite expensive, the total cost of production is said to be lesser than the production of traditional crops. The main reason for this is that these foods have natural resistance towards pests and insects and so not much pesticides and insecticides have to be sprayed on them. This reduces the necessity of exposing genetically modified crops to harmful pesticides and insecticides, making these foods free from chemicals and environment friendly as well.
Genetically modified foods are said to be high in nutrients, and contain more minerals and vitamins than those found in traditionally grown foods. Other than this, these foods also taste better. Another reason for people opting for genetically engineered foods is that they have an increased shelf life and so there is less fear of the foods getting rotten quickly
-Crop losses from insect pests can be staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries. Farmers typically use many tons of chemical pesticides annually. Consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with pesticides because of potential health hazards, and run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can poison the water supply and cause harm to the environment. Growing GM foods such as B.t. corn can help eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market
-Unexpected frost can destroy sensitive seedlings. An antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced into plants such as tobacco and potato. With this antifreeze gene, these plants are able to tolerate cold temperatures that normally would kill unmodified seedlings
-Medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and sometimes require special storage conditions not readily available in third world countries. Researchers are working to develop edible vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes16, 17. These vaccines will be much easier to ship, store and administer than traditional injectable vaccines.
DISADVANTAGES
-Genetically manipulated organisms could cross with other organisms. This could cause unpredictable and irreversible changes to the ecosystem. This is however a possible consequence, nobody knows what will happen. Because of this many people have the opinion that genetic manipulation should be forbidden.
- What will happen to mankind if we start to apply genetic manipulation at a large scale, especially if we start to apply eugenetics. Nobody knows what the effects on man will be and how long this can go well.
- Is it allowed to do with animals what everyone wants? Some people believe that animals have their own nature and mankind should in principle respect this. They believe that genetic manipulation of animals should be restricted as much as possible.
1. As more GM crops can be grown on relatively small parcels of land, GM crops are an answer to feeding growing world populations
2. More environment friendly as they require less herbicides and pesticides
3.GM crops are more productive and have a larger yield
4. Pest resistance: Since a lot of crops are lost because of pests, which lead to starvation in people and financial loss for formers. To prevent pests from destroying crops, farmers use a lot of pesticides. But people do not want to eat foods with pesticides. So, this is where GM foods come in. some foods like corn do not need pesticides and this also reduces the cost of growing the crop.
5. Herbicide tolerance: Herbicides are often used by farmers to kill weeds. This is not only expensive, but also a time-consuming process. Genetically modified crop plants do not need herbicide tolerant and this means that the crop would need lesser amount of herbicides.
6. Disease resistance: Many types of bacteria, fungi, and viruses can cause plant diseases. Biologists who are working on genetically modified plants that will be disease resistant. This way plants won't get destroyed due to disease.
7. Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance: GM foods include crops that can withstand high salt content in the soil or long periods of drought. This way, farmers can grow crops in inhospitable places too.
8. Nutrition: Malnutrition is a common problem in many countries. Poor people often rely on a single crop for most of their nutrition requirements. So, through genetic engineering, scientists are trying to make crops more nutritious, so that people are able to get nourishment through one kind of food.
9. Pharmaceuticals: Certain vaccines are being induced in GM foods, so that people are able to get their medical needs through foods.
* Increases income for farmers.
--Crops have to be thrown away,resulting in loss of income for the farmers because of low rainfall, and other problems every year.Scientist created GM food crops that are more resistant to such conditions. With fewer GM food crops being damaged, farmers will be able to enjoy an increase in their output and income.
* Increases in food supply.
--GM food crops are able to produce higher output than non-GM food crops. The increase in food supply leads to a decline in food prices, making food more affordable in LDCs. This help reduce the problems of malnutrition and improve people's health.
* Improves nutritional value of food
--In the past, the lack of Vitamin A in LDCs has resulted in 1 million children dying every year and 350 000 becoming blind. The introduction og Golden Rice(GM rice) in LDCs can help to reduce the number of malnutition cases.
Cons of GM food
*Potential Health Risk
--Many people fear the potential health risk of consuming GM food. Hence people who are allergic to lectin fear that they may have allergic reaction if they
(1)GM Food help in controlling the occurrence of certain diseases. There are some foods that cause allergy to people when consumed. By modifying the DNA system of these foods, the properties causing these allergies can be eliminated successfully.
(2)GM food grows faster than foods that are grown in the traditional manner. Due to this, productivity increases, providing the population with more food.
(3)GM food are said to be high in nutrients, and contain more minerals and vitamins than those found in traditionally grown foods. Other than this, these foods also taste better. Another reason for people opting for genetically engineered foods is that they have an increased shelf life and so there is less fear of the foods getting rotten quickly.
The disadvantages of GM food are:
(1)GM food may have harmful effects on the human body. Consumption of these genetically engineered foods can cause the development of diseases which are immune to antibiotics. People who consume such foods may also have high chances of developing cancer.
Prevents wasted crops. If pests cannot eat the crops, nothing goes to waste. Therefore, farmers make more money!
It could potentially solve hunger. Many people agree that there is not enough food in the world to feed everybody. As genetically modified foods increase the yields of crops, more food is produced by farmers. Of course, others argue that there is enough food to feed everyone, but it is unequally distributed. Others argue the GM crops do not produce higher yields.
We can begin to grow foods in different conditions. For instance, strawberries can be genetically engineered to grow in frosts. Other foods that grow in cold climates could be engineered to grow in hot climates (such as Africa where much of the continent does not have enough food).
Some foods can be genetically modifies to contain higher amounts of important vitamins and minerals. Vitamin A deficiencies cause blindness. In Africa, 500,000 go blind each year. If rice can be modified to contain more vitamin A, the amount of people going blind will decrease.
As more research is done the technology is bound to improve. Scientists are already considering genetic modification to make fish, nuts and plants grow faster.
-Crops
Enhanced taste and quality
Reduced maturation time
Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides
New products and growing techniques
Animals
Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
Improved animal health and diagnostic methods
Environment
"Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides
Conservation of soil, water, and energy
Bioprocessing for forestry products
Better natural waste management
More efficient processing
Society
Increased food security for growing populations
Controversies
Safety
Potential human health impacts, including allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects
Potential environmental impacts, including: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
Access and Intellectual Property
Domination of world food production by a few companies
Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries
Biopiracy, or foreign exploitation of natural resources
Ethics
Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values
Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
Stress for animal
Labeling
Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
Mixing GM crops with non-GM products confounds labeling attempts
Society
New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries
1)Genetic modification can produce larger, hardier, tastier, and more nutritious foods.
2)Nowadays, plants can be genetically modified to be better able to survive abiotic extremes, such as frosty temperatures, heat waves, droughts, and poor soil chemistries.
3)Plants have also been genetically modified to better tolerate fungi and parisitic insects.
Disadvantages of genetically modified food
1)Some GM species may increase allergenicity. For instance, an allergenic trait has been transferred unintentionally from the Brazil nut into genetically engineered soybeans.
2)GM crops may reduce biodiversity not only within their own species, but among wildlife living nearby.
3)GM plants may hybridize with wild plants even at great distances (as when pollen is transferred by wind), reducing the proportion of wild alleles in the native plants.
second , it offers more nutritional value and better flavor and third , it is also more environment friendly as they require less herbicides and pesticides .
The disadvantages of GM food is that first , it is a harm to other organisms. For example genes and their effect included in a crop may turn out to be poisonous to insects (monarch butterfly poisoned by GMO corns) , second , it causes health problems and third ,
the taste of GMOs are not as good or "natural".