Transcript Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically
Modified Foods
Quickly write down a list of the
foods or drinks that you had in the
last 24 hours.
Circle any foods that you believe
were genetically modified.
Where do we get our
food?
Hunting and gathering
 Subsistence farming
 Agriculture
 Grocery Stores
 Restaurants

Questions to consider?
Do we have enough food to feed the
world?
 Do we have the right types of food in
the right places?
 Can we increase our food supply?
 What is the cheapest and easiest way
to increase the food supply?


Genetically modified (GM) and
genetically engineered (GE) foods
provide one way to produce enough
food for the growing world population
and to produce the right types of food.
People have been modifying food for
many years. Some types are familiar
and comfortable to consumers.
 Examples include:

– Selective breeding of animals
– Alcohol, yogurt, cheese and other dairy
products, tangelos and other hybrid foods

Recent controversy surrounding
genetic manipulation of food because
of its increased popularity.
What is a genetically
modified food?

A food that has genes added or
removed

Also:
– Foods made using genetically modified
ingredients
– Products from animals fed GM feed
– Food products produced by a GM organism
Why are foods
genetically modified?
Rapid and precise way of altering
organisms to have a desired trait.
Traditional breeding methods tend to
be slow, require many trials and
produce many inaccurate products.

Most of these crops are being grown to
benefit the producers of the food – not
the consumers. (make it more efficient
to grow the crop)

But the foods end up in products that
are made from these GM crops

Ex: GE soybeans – get soybean oil –
made into margarine.
Prevalence of GM
crops

In 2010
– 10% of all crops
– 29 countries
– Most prevalent in the US, Brazil,
Argentina, and Canada
– Most common gene added allows farmers
to use weed killer on plants without killing
them
GM crops
#1 Soybeans
#2 Corn
#3 Cotton
#4 Canola
(rapeseed oil)
#5 Sugar Beets
#6 Alfalfa
#7 Papaya
#8 Squash
#9 Poplar trees
#10 Potato
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Tomato
Carnations
Radicchio
Flax
Petunias
Examples of GM foods
Did you eat GM food
today?

Breakfast
– Pop tarts
– Nutri grain bars
– Quaker granola
bars
– Eggo Waffles
– Most cereal
(Cheerios, Wheaties,
Lucky Charms, Rice
Krispies, Froot Loops,
Cocoa Pebbles, Cap’n
Crunch)
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Chocolate
–
–
–
–
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Cadbury
Hershey’s
Mars
Nestle
Cookies
–
–
–
–
Keebler
Oreos
Graham Crackers
Teddy Grahams
Did you eat GM food
today?

Crackers
– Wheat Thins
– Triscuits
– Cheeze-its

Snacks
– Microwave Popcorn
– Frito-Lay
– Pringles
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Campbell’s Soup
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Frozen Pizza
Drinks
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Pepsi
Coke
Capri Sun
Fruit Works
Dr. Pepper
Hi-C
Mt. Dew
Koolaid
Ocean Spray
Gatorade
4 biggest GM in foods

Corn: corn oil, corn syrup, high fructose
corn syrup, corn starch, corn meal
Soy: soy protein, soy lecithin, soy oil, soy
sauce, soy isolates
Canola: canola oil
Cotton: cottonseed oil
Scientists estimate that
2/3 of food in a normal
grocery store contain
something that is
genetically modified.
Check a current list
non GM foods
True Foods Now has a list of foods that
are considered to be non GM if a
person wants to avoid them or see if a
certain product contains GM
ingredients.
http://truefoodnow.org/shoppers-guide/
Advantages/Benefits…
Avoid chemical pesticides on food and
runoff into water supply.
 Weather resistant food production
 Increased nutrients
 Increased crop yields in shorter time
 Increased crop yields on less land
 Can use land of poor quality
 Enhanced taste or quality
 Longer growing season
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Disadvantages/Risks…

Environmental Hazards
– Unintended harm to other organisms
– Reduced effectiveness of
pesticides/herbicides
– Insects develop pesticide resistance
– Weeds develop herbicide resistance
– Crops that cross-pollinate to create
“superweeds”
– Harm to beneficial insects or wildlife
– Decrease biodiversity
Disadvantages/Risks…

Economic Concerns
– Increase price of seeds/food
– Domination of world food production by a
few companies
– Increased dependence on industrialized
nations by poor countries
– Rich countries have advantage

Human Health Risks
– Allergies (soybeans with brazil nut gene)
– Unknown effects on human health
Regulation

Different governments have
different responses to regulation of
GM food
– Europe – products are labeled and not
well accepted
– Japan – health testing of GM foods
mandatory
– US – not many policies, regulated by
many different agencies
Labeling of GM foods
FDA contends that GM food are
substantially equivalent to non-GM
foods, and do not need labeled.
 Food labels of GM food are not
required in US unless nutritional
values are changed.
 Most industries believe that labeling
should be voluntary.

Labeling of GM foods

Considerations
– Cost of labeling
 Handling
in fields, shipping, production so
that products of GM and non-GM are not
mixed.
– Higher price to consumers
– What are acceptable amounts of GM
before labeling needed?
– Who is responsible for monitoring and
enforcing?
Future

Greatest challenge is educating and
informing the public on the GM foods
and policies without causing alarm or
fear.
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From recent surveys:
– Americans have little knowledge of GM
foods
– Most oppose a ban but believe that it
should be regulated by the FDA
THINK and DISCUSS
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Mendocino County, California became
the first county in the US to prohibit
growing GM crops and raising GM
animals. The ban is unlikely to have
an immediate effect because no GM
crops are known to be grown there.
But it will give farmers a marketing tool
in places where anti-biotech food
sentiment is strong.
• USA Today March 4, 2004
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Should foods in the US be labeled?
– Should they say GM or GM free?
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Would you spend more money to
purchase GM free foods?
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Would you vote to make your county a
GM area? Why/why not?
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Should farmers/food manufactures be
required to disclose they are using GM
products?