Transcript Genetically Modified Organisms

Genetically Modified
Organisms
Emily Walls
Zach Witherspoon
GM is a special set of technologies that
alter the genetic makeup of organisms
such as animals, plants, or bacteria.
 Uses recombinant DNA technology
 Basically, genetic modification takes a
gene containing a desired trait from one
organism and sequences the gene into a
new organism.
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What is a GMO?
We eat genetically modified organisms on
a daily basis!
 They are right on the shelves of our
grocery stores
 We bake them into casseroles and stir
them into soups
 We feed them to our children and our
animals
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How does this apply to us?
The first GM food to be made available to
the consumer was a tomato called
FlavrSavr in 1994.
 Producers wanted a tomato that would
last longer, staying fresher and firmer
once it was picked.
 These tomatoes contain less of the
substance which causes tomatoes to rot.
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The GM Tomato
Flavr Savr Tomato
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Because the GM tomatoes can remain fresh
longer they can be allowed to ripen in the
sun before picking - resulting in a better
tasting tomato.
GM tomatoes can tolerate a lengthier
transport time. This means that market
gardens can avoid picking tomatoes while
they are green in order that they will tolerate
the transport.
The producers also have the advantage that
all the tomatoes can be harvested
simultaneously.
What are the advantages over a
regular tomato?
At first, these tomatoes were antibiotic
resistant
 Antibiotics are important for fighting
disease, so it would have been a problem
if these genes had made it into humans or
animals
 Now we can grow GM tomatoes which are
no longer resistant to antibiotics
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Disadvantages?
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Food can stay fresher longer
Crops can be engineered to be pest
resistant without the use of pesticides
GM crops have the potential to be grown
in impoverished areas which don’t
naturally grow food very well or where
nutrient deficiencies are prevalent
Enhanced taste and quality
Increased crop yields and nutrients
What are the advantages of GM
foods on a larger scale?
Increased income for farmers
 Reduced need for tillage/plowing, leading
to decreased soil erosion
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Advantages cont.
We have only been eating GM foods for a
relatively short time, so we don’t know
what the long-term side affects might be
 Is there a chance that the GM plant could
breed with other plants and create
something new/unwanted?
 Could a gene be inserted into a GM food
which people were allergic to, and might
eat unknowingly?
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What are the dangers/potential
dangers of GM foods?
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Objections to consuming animal genes in a
vegetable form
A few corporations dominating world food
production
Having to continually create new crops when
pests grew immune to pesticidal crop strains
Losing the original naturally growing seed of
a crop
The public not knowing what they are eating
when labeling is not mandatory
Dangers cont.
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Golden Rice
“Biofortified rice as a contribution to the
alleviation of life-threatening micronutrient
deficiencies in developing countries”
Vitamin A Deficiency causes 250,000 to
500,000 children to go blind every year
Vitamin A is taken from the green part of the
rice and put into the seed
So why not put Vitamin A in the rice they
eat?
A good idea for the use of a GM
crop
Golden Rice
Greenpeace presents strong opposition to
Golden Rice
 They say it does not address the
underlying issues of poverty
 And that Golden Rice still provides
ineffective amounts of Vitamin A
 Some scientists oppose it on the grounds
that it is not being tested on animals
before tested with humans
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What are the problems with
Golden Rice?
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Monsanto is one of the forerunners in the
field of Genetically Modified Organism
research. They also produce many seeds for
farming purposes. Ironically, the company
also produces the herbicide Roundup.
The company was begun in 1901, and in
1981 biotechnology was established as their
main focus.
In 1982 their scientists became the first to
genetically modify a plant cell.
Who is looking at GM foods?
Americans have been eating GM foods
without necessarily realizing it for about
15 years now
 Europe has much more stringent policies
concerning GM foods than the US does
 All GM foods in Europe must be labeled,
as well as their GM steps traced and
documented
 The US does not require GM foods to be
labeled
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What are restrictions on GM
foods?
The FDA has strict requirements that a
GM food must meet before becoming
available for public consumption.
 For example, any new gene being
introduced into a food must be already
approved by the FDA as safe
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How does a GM food become
“safe” for consumption?
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Honey
Cotton
Rice
Soybean
Sugar cane
Tomatoes
Corn
Sweet corn
Tobacco
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Meat
Vegetable oil
Squash
Dairy products
Peas
Sugar beets
Canola
Potatoes
Vitamins
Common examples of GM
organisms
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http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Hu
man_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml
http://www.bionetonline.org/English/Cont
ent/ff_cont3.htm
http://www.goldenrice.org/
http://www.disabledworld.com/fitness/gm-foods.php
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Testimon
y/ucm115032.htm
Sources