Genetically Modified Food Crops? Developing Countries

“Sixty to seventy percent of all processed foods available on store shelves contain genetically modified ingredients”, according to George Erdosh and Marcia Amidon Lusted in “To GMO or not to GMO? Genetically engineered food has strong advocates and harsh critics.” Genetically modified organisms can be found in most conventional foods processed in the United States, and genetic modification of crops is extremely common on classic Minnesota farms. Crops such as corn and soybeans or even papaya and zucchini are viable for genetic modification. In fact, the definition of (GMO) as reported by Alex K. Rich and Tom Warhol, authors of “Genetically Modified Foods: An Overview,” is, “food in which, at some point during the production process molecules and proteins are chemically altered to give the food more nutrients, a better appearance, and a longer shelf life.” As a matter of fact, a majority of all the foods found at the grocery store are genetically altered. However, many people do not know what genetic modification really is, or that the idea has been around for many years. GMOs are used to control pests and weeds. Therefore, through changing the genetic makeup of the plant, modifications allow for advancements of new technologies that account for the applicability of specific chemicals, as opposed to dated Non-GMO farming techniques.

Genetic modified organisms, or GMOs, are living organisms that, through the genetic engineering process, have been altered to withstand certain chemicals and increase the nutritional value of the product. In fact, the majority of the foods found at the grocery store are genetically altered. Genetic modification is becoming increasingly popular on farms throughout the United States and moving into other parts of the world due to their increasing yield capabilities and pest and weed control. However, this has been, and continues to be, an extremely controversial topic of discussion in the world of agriculture and biotechnology, as well as health food critics, because of potential environmental and health risks.

Genetic engineering is already providing a more stable solution for agricultural production in the economy to stand on. In nine years (i.e. 1996-2005), profits from genetically modified crops were twenty-seven billion dollars. Those twenty-seven billion dollars were not just in the United States or countries like it, but the profits almost split half and half between first and third world countries (O'Neill 19). In India, for example, cotton yields have jumped to one hundred-fifty percent from the use of genetically modified crops, vastly increasing the farmers’ profits (19). The planting of these crops can really help farmers know what they are going to make every year and plan accordingly. Also, helping the farmers’ expenses is the lack of chemical pesticides needed on the crops and reducing time spent using the pricey traditional breeding methods (Mannion and Morse 749-751). Even if genetically modified crops are not planted in every field, adjoining fields can benefit due to the “halo effect.” The “halo effect” is the ability of pest protection on the genetically modified crops to affect the non-genetically modified crops due to the lack of insects in the genetically modified field (754). Genetically modified crops affect the economy in a positive way and should be seen as a smart

“Sixty to seventy percent of all processed foods available on store shelves contain genetically modified ingredients”, according to George Erdosh and Marcia Amidon Lusted in “To GMO or not to GMO? Genetically engineered food has strong advocates and harsh critics.” Genetically modified organisms can be found in most conventional food processed in the United States., and gGenetic modification of crops is extremely common on classic Minnesotan farm plants, such as, corn and soybeans. They can also be found in papaya and zucchini, even animals such as cows and pig. In fact, the definition of (GMO) as reported by Alex K. Rich and Tom Warhol, authors of “Genetically Modified Foods: An Overview,””, is, “food in which, at some point during the production process molecules and proteins are chemically altered to give the food more nutrients, a better appearance, and a longer shelf life.” As a matter of fact, a majority of all the foods found at the grocery store are genetically altered. However, many people do not know what a genetic modification really is, or that the idea has been around for many years. GMOs are used to control pests and weeds. As the opposite of Non-GMO farming, this is accomplished by changing the genetic makeup of the plant, by using new technologies and techniques that allow for the use of specific chemicals.

Last but not least, Whitman (2000) also states genetically modified crops are more economical especially to farmers in third world countries because they have higher crop yields in lesser time enabling them to satisfy the high demand for food. Genetically modified crops also take up very little land to grow improving profits for farmers. Because they grow in such short time, the demand for more food in starving countries is more easily satisfied at a lower cost.

Genetically modified crops are an incredibly important issue that everyone should be aware of since it is something we are exposed to at a daily basis. Genetically modified crops also known as GM crops or Biotech crops has been one of the most heated debates of issues within our society. The debate about the safety, concerns and disadvantages of GM crops have raged since the mid 1990 's but this is due to the lack of knowledge of the general public. Many people are unaware of what the GM crops actually are and what they offer. Genetically modified crops are plants that are used in the agriculture and have been modified to initiate a new trait to plants that does not happen naturally in the species. These plants are modified using genetic engineering techniques to enhance desired traits. GM crops are made when genes of commercial interest are transferred from one organism to another.() There are many methods used for the production of GM crops but the two primary used for plant insertion are gene guns and agrobacterium tumefaciens. There are also three types of modifications which are transgenic, cisgenic, and subgenic plants. However, there are a number of issues that surround this controversial topic such as environmental, health, and economic concerns. Even though there are some worrying facts about GM crops people don 't realize the advantages or the ways it has helped humans as well as animals. There are many reasons why GM crops are proven

In contrast, the counter argument claims that GMOs are unsafe for human consumption. However, GMOs actually improve human health by reducing the amount of pesticides needed for successful crop production. With the use of GMOs in crop production, the amount of pesticide and herbicide application has decreased. To resume, successful crop production is essential to a farmer’s success, which could be why over 18 million farmers throughout the world utilize GMOs. The successful production of crops can be achieved by genetically modifying crops with resistance against insects, weeds, and other threats. Resistance to different stressors has reduced pesticide applications by 8.1 percent. Additionally, crops that are modified to be resistant to specific

The origin of GMOs started in 1982 by an experiment done by the United States Department of Agriculture, in which they changed the genes of a tomato plant. Commercial use of Genetically Engineered crops began in 1996 (Fernandez-Cornejo et al. pg 7). While developing Genetically Modified Organisms, scientists and researchers characterized the types of Genetically Engineered crop traits into

One of the biggest advantages of agricultural biotechnology lies in its economic efficiency. GM crops are financially beneficial to both the farmer and the consumer. Due to their resistance to pests, viruses, and adverse climates, genetically altered crops produce much larger yields than organic or conventional crops. For example, studies show that if no insecticide is used, a GM crop known as Bt maize has a 48% higher yield than non-modified maize varieties

Genetically modified organisms have the potential to be a beneficial crop in many different areas with further research and development. Created in 1994 as a tomato variety with a gene to allow for longer shelf life, these crops have been introduced in the market for both human and livestock consumption. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a type of organism that has had its deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) changed to include a foreign gene that allows for some enhancement in the organism such as longer shelf-life, less need for water, or more nutrients available in the organism. Slight modifications to an organism's deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) allows for crops to make better use of resources, have a longer shelf life or even contain more

The development of genetically engineered foods began in the 1900s, and has been in United State markets since 1995 (Bredahl 18). The most widespread genetically modified foods are oil, maize, cotton, and soybeans (Cunningham 11). Transgenic foods were products created to increase benefit and lower prices (Whitman 2). Genetically modified foods are essential to enrichments of crops (Tan 3). It helps reduce the use of herbicides and pesticides in plants, enhances taste and quality, lower maturation time,

Scientists view that GM Technology will boost the yields, improve crop quality and food nutrition, create pest resistant better drought tolerant varieties. This also aims to lower environment impact by better water and fertilizer exploitation, provide plants for pharmaceuticals and vaccines and reduce post harvest wastages (Davies S129).

Advantages and Problems of Genetically Modified Agricultural Crops Genetically Modified food (GM) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption, using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. Genetic engineering can create plants with the extract desired trait, both accurately and rapidly. For example frost can destroy sensitive seedlings, an antifreeze gene from cold water fish has been introduced to plants such as tobacco and potatoes, and with this anti freeze gene these plants are able to tolerate the

Chemical and seed companies have been working the last several years to alter the genetic make-up of certain crops to combat heavy pressure from insects and weeds. Through genetic manipulation plant breeders have been able to make certain crops resistant to different types of chemicals and insects. Breeders can alter the crops by adding to a specific plant one or more genes from other related crops with a known resistance to an insect or herbicide The use of genetically engineered crops has become a hotly debated topic over the last couple of years. Environmentalists are concerned with how these new crops will affect the environment. Farmers want to know how these crops will help them to increase production

GM crops are created by inserting a gene externally from an foreign source into unrelated species. This has granted an ability to overcome many physiological barriers and to exchange genetic information among all living organisms. The purpose of genetic modification is to create a faster, efficient, and much more precise way to achieve the same results from artificial selection. Additionally, it can be used in order to introduce a new trait to the crop that would not be usually naturally occurring.