Allowing GMOs and their benefit for Humans: December 2010

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Main points of GMOs

Some statistics of past GMOs and their aid to the world (2006)

a total of 252 million acres of GMO crops were planted in 22 countries by over 10 million farmers
The majority of the crops were insect and herbicide resistant crops such as soybeans, corn, cotton, canola, and alfalfa

· Two crops planted were sweet potatoes that were resistant to a virus that could decimate most of Africa's harvest, and rice altered to produce increased amounts of iron and vitamins to Asian countries to help alleviate malnutrition

· In 2006, mainly industrial nations utilized GMOs, but this is beginning to plateau in these nations, yet continues to grow in poor nations

Some advances GMOs that are close to being solved and used for medicine and food stuffs:

· Bananas to produce human vaccines to Hepatitis B

· Fish with faster growth

· Cows resistant to “Mad Cow disease” (encephalopathy)

· Fruit and nut trees yielding product years in advance

· Plants producing new and cheap plastics

Many of the already recognizable benefits of GMOs

· Crops- enhanced flavor and quality, reduced maturation time, increased yields, improved disease resistance, new products

· Animals- Increased resistance, increased health, increased product

· Environment- eco-friendly bioherbicides and bioinsecticides, conservation of needs (water, energy, etc.), better waste management, more efficient processing

· Society- increased food capacity and security for an expanding global population

To the right is the cannabis plant injected with the terminator gene so it will not be able to reproduce

Background information

Benefits of GMOs

Better food quality and taste- Using GMO foods can produce more sugar such as fructose in vegetables such as corn, and increase heat in peppers. They can also increase shelf life
There is an increase in product in a smaller amount of time because genetically modifying the organism will allow them to grow bigger and faster
Using GM animals allows for disease resistant animals that can withstand factory conditions better
Using GMOs will also save time and money in the maintenance process such as using pesticides where they can just introduce a DNA fragment that codes for a natural pesticide harmless to humans

Drawbacks of GMOs

Safety concerns of not knowing any longer term dangers of GMOs
There are environmental dangers where introducing genetically new plants and animals could damage the ecosystem especially with cross breeding or pollination
Socioeconomic damage to poor countries that do not have the means to engineer their foods where industrial moguls will no longer need these countries for export
Ethically, there is the question of whether it is right or wrong to alter the genetic makeup of organisms leading to possibly cloning humans
There is always a huge resistance issue where producing plants and animals resistant to bacteria cause the bacteria to grow stronger and making them harder to kill

Three Points of Arguement

GMOs are a part of a growing future that will require them, and their benefits far outweigh their negative aspects.

GMOs will help aid in saving starving or poor countries stricken by famine and harsh environments through resistant stronger crops, faster growing GMOs, and new product production

· Also, GMOs will be able to produce different vaccines and medicines to combat human disease

· Thirdly, GMOs have resistance to harsh viruses and bacteria of which would usually be harmful to humans and destroy large numbers of livestock or crops, causing huge monetary loss and wasted product

Main points of GMOs

Some statistics of past GMOs and their aid to the world (2006)

a total of 252 million acres of GMO crops were planted in 22 countries by over 10 million farmers
The majority of the crops were insect and herbicide resistant crops such as soybeans, corn, cotton, canola, and alfalfa

· In 2006, mainly industrial nations utilized GMOs, but this is beginning to plateau in these nations, yet continues to grow in poor nations

Some advances GMOs that are close to being solved and used for medicine and food stuffs:

· Bananas to produce human vaccines to Hepatitis B

· Fish with faster growth

· Cows resistant to “Mad Cow disease” (encephalopathy)

· Fruit and nut trees yielding product years in advance

· Plants producing new and cheap plastics

Many of the already recognizable benefits of GMOs

· Crops- enhanced flavor and quality, reduced maturation time, increased yields, improved disease resistance, new products

· Animals- Increased resistance, increased health, increased product

· Environment- eco-friendly bioherbicides and bioinsecticides, conservation of needs (water, energy, etc.), better waste management, more efficient processing

· Society- increased food capacity and security for an expanding global population

Benefits on All Levels

Economic Benefits

· In South Africa, genetically modified cotton has boosted the economy of smallholders in the country

· 30% income increase for farmers investing virus-resistant potatoes

· 40% income increase for farmers investing in weevil- resistant potatoes

· Farmers also save money from purchasing pesticides and labor costs of spreading it

Environmental Benefits

· In 2000, because of pesticide resistant crops, farmers used 8.2 million fewer pounds of pesticides

· GM plants have been developed to rid of heavy metal pollution in the soil

Global Nutrition Benefits

· A large example of global nutrition is the production of Golden Rice which is extremely high in vitamin A and helps in Asian countries where Vitamin A deficiency is extremely high, leading to blindness

(golden rice v. white rice -->)

Global Health Benefits

· Genetically engineered potatoes, tested on rats, have an edible medicine against rotavirus and E. coli

Productivity of GMOs

Agricultural Productivity

· Better stress resistance in plants that allow the GMO to resist not only pests, but require less water in dry environments, and be able to withstand lower temperature in cold environments

Environmental Benefits

· More food with less land used, higher crop production

· Less pesticides covering the crops and being absorbed by the soil and farmer spreading the chemicals

· Also, certain GMOs will be able to give nutrients to the soil rather than take them, allowing for rehabilitation of the soil

· Bioremediation where organisms will be able to repair and rebuild damaged and nutrient deficient soil

· Longer shelf life of foods

· Biofuels to use plant matter and biomass to produce energy

Human Health

· Being able to identify allergenic genes that cause the reactions that result in fatalities such as anaphylaxis and removing them, producing safer foods such as nuts

Examples

Cold Tolerance – In tobacco and potato plants, an antifreeze gene from cold water fish has being transgenically introduced, allowing both crops to withstand much lower temperatures

Pharmaceuticals- Producing edible GMOs that contain vaccines and medicines are not only easier to produce, but easier to ship, ingest, and cheaper.

Phytoremediation- There have been plants produced, such as the poplar tree, that now absorb many unhealthy heavy metals from the soil and does not cause damage to the tree, but is harbored there