GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM (GMO) TECHNOHOLICS

Plant Biotechnology ●any technique that uses plants either wholly or in part to make or improve products useful to man. ●employs not only biological but also a range of chemical and engineering techniques to develop the use of plants TECHNOHOLICS

Genetic Engineering ●refers to specific gene transfer from the same or related or unrelated species resulting in gene fragment modification and recombination to produce new traits ●it is used when trait is not present in the germplasm of the organism TECHNOHOLICS

In relation to HEALTH ● Allergies and anti-nutrition factors ● Transgenes from cultivated crops into wild relative ● Generations of antibiotic resistance in animals or humans ● Pests evolving resistance to toxins produced by GM crops. ● Toxins affecting non-target crops. TECHNOHOLICS

ENVIRONMENT Dramatic reduction in pesticide A study assessing the global economic and environmental impacts of biotech crops for the first 16 years ( ) of adoption showed that the technology has reduced pesticide spraying by 474 million kg and has reduced environmental footprint associated with pesticide use by 18.1%. The technology has also significantly reduced the release of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture equivalent to removing 10 million cars from the roads. USA: reduction of 46.4 million pounds of pesticide in CHINA: reduction of 78,000 tons of formulated pesticides in 2001 TECHNOHOLICS

ECONOMIC Using patents for profits. The price of the seeds can be raised to such an extent that small- scale farm operations and farmers in developing countries will not be able to afford these GM varieties of crops. Saves money. More products are being produced. Use of genetically engineered crops such as insect resistant crops also saves money as it requires less pesticides to be used. TECHNOHOLICS

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL Labeling People wanted to know if they are eating are GM Foods or not. Should labeling be required? Currently, the United States and Canada do not make labeling genetically modified foods necessary under law, while many other countries ban genetically modified organisms completely or have some other restriction. TECHNOHOLICS