Genetically Modified Organisms By David Forsayeth

Thesis Genetically Modified Organisms are a solution to the food and health problems facing the world and therefore the use of them should be supported by all nations.

What are Genetically Modified Organisms? They are when the genetic structure of an animal or plant is modified in order to (hopefully) improve it. They mix the DNA of different species with different positive attributes in order to create an organism that contains all of those positive attributes and none of the negative ones.

GMOs In Our Lives The first large scale planting of GMOs was in 1996 In Canada, almost all of the food we eat has been affected by GMO. Estimated that in the U.S 60-70% of food on shelves has GM components, this would be about equal for Canada One third of corn and half of soybeans grown in 1999 were GMOs In 2000 it was estimated that 65 million acres of land were to be planted with GMOs Today it is estimated at 125 million acres, most of which is made up of corn, soybeans, canola, and cotton % of milk in North America comes from cows GM with a bovine growth hormone to boost milk production.

Why Some Are Against Them Moral Issues –Playing God –Could lead to human cloning Environmental Issues –Full ecological impact unknown –Competition would hurt natural species –Pests/Viruses could build up resistances Health Issues –Allergens could be added unknowingly –Nutritional value could change

Why They Are Good Population growth and decrease of arable land Malnutrition and starvation gripping the developing world –UN estimates 36 million people die every year from starvation Biotechnology can: –Increase productivity –Nutritionally enhance food –Drought, pest, and weed resistant –Grown in areas they could not usually be grown –Could even grow industrial compounds

Examples Of GMOs Have/Are Going To Help Hawaiian Papayas –Virus was going to destroy the industry –Virus resistant papayas were made, saving all the farmers and their industry. Sweet Potatoes in Africa –Could double the yield Bt Crops –Decreased pesticide use by up to 75%, no adverse effects have been noticed Bananas –Almost half of the fruit produced is lost on the way to the market –40% more bananas if they ripened slower

Golden Rice 100 million children lack Vitamin A –Leading cause of blindness at 350,000 a year –Also kills 1 million children a year Rice is a staple of 3 billion people’s diet Created by Ingo Potrykus in 1999 Mixes the common species of rice with the beta-carotene genes from the daffodil First GMO to help not only farmers, but also the consumer Golden Rice under a microscope

Conclusion The benefits outweigh the risks, millions of lives could be saved every year All the problems are speculative, whereas the benefits are real “Biotechnology has the potential to feed the world; all that is required is cooperation between the rich and the poor to make sure everyone benefits. It is fine to argue about the ethics and safety in developed countries, where we have enough food, but in developed countries they don’t have the time.” – Bill Gates

Sources Used Anderson, Luke. Genetic Engineering, Food, and our Environment. Chelsea Green: White River Junction, Chapman, James. “Farmyard Zombies-The grosteque worl of genetically modified animals.” The Sydney Sunday Telegraph. 8 September 2002: Feature. Electric Library. Crescent Library. 27 November Charman, Karen. “Genetically Engineered Food: Promises and Perils.” Mother Earth News. 1 October 2002: Proquest Direct. Crescent Library. 27 October Gates, Bill. “Will Frankenfood Feed The World?” Time. 19 June 2000: 78+. Electric Library. Crescent Library. 27 October Lal, Rup and Sukayana. Genetic Engineering of Plants for Crop Improvement. Boca Raton: CRC Press, Lambrecht, Bill. Dinner at the New Gene Café. New York: St. Martin’s Press, Montagne, Renee. “FDA Turns to the National Academy of Sciences about concerns surrounding genetically engineered animals.” NPR Radio. 21 August 2002:N/A. Electirc Library. Crescent Library. 27 November Persley, Gabrielle J. Beyond Mendel’s Garden:Biotechnology in the Service of World Agriculture. Bath: Bookcraft Ltd., 1991 Nash, J. Madeleine. “Grains Of Hope: Genetically engineered crops could revolutionize farming.” Time. 31 July 2000: 38+. Electric Library. Crescent Library. 27 October “GM Foods”.