Food+and+Bio-engineering(GM)


 * Food and Bio-Engineering **


 * Brenlee Shipps **
 * Ca roline Thompson **
 * Josh Corso **
 * Lisa Malhas **

**__Introduction:__**

Bioengineering for crops, or genetic modification, is the altering of the genetic material in that crop in a way that does not occur naturally, usually by manipulating its DNA. In traditional farming styles, the farmers will use "crosses", or the mating of two organisms to yield the best traits. Using GM technology, genes are moved from one species into a completely unrelated species with the help of a special serum in a syringe; the serum often includes a virus or bacteria that has the desired DNA within it, as well as bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics.


 * __Overarching question:__ **

How does globalization drive the production of bio-engineered food?

**__ Focus Questions: __** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">1. Do the benefits of mass producing bio-engineered foods and shipping them to countries in need outweigh the downfalls and possible ethical issues involved?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">2. Should countries with populations in need of food aid reject GM food from developed countries?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">3. Is GM food safe for consumption for populations from both developing countries and developed countries?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">4. What regulations could be enacted to reduce the health risks of genetically engineered food that is sent to countries in need?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">** __Benefits of Bio-Engineering:__ ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; vertical-align: baseline;">Crawford, Lester. "[|Pharming the Field: A Look at the Benefits and Risks of Bioengineering Plants to Produce Pharmaceuticals]", The PEW Charitable Trusts. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">// Proceedings from a workshop sponsored // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">// by the Pew Intiative on Food and //// Biotechnology, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Cooperative // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">// State Research, Education and Extension Service of the U.S. Department of // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">// Agriculture. //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; vertical-align: baseline;">"[|AIMBE Position Statement]", American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">// Our nation's food supply, and 10% of our national exports rely on the agricultural // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">// industry of America. Not only does our agricultural base feed the world, but it also // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">// develops plant and animal technologies which will improve the health of // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">// Americans, and it may help clean the environment. //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; vertical-align: baseline;">"[|Genetically Modified Foods]" Better Health Channel, Deakin University. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; vertical-align: baseline;">GM foods are genetically modified using biotechnology. Some GM foods // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">// include maize, soybean, canola, chicory, squash,potato, // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">// pineapple and strawberries. GM foods may provide greater resistance to // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">// pests and viruses,higher nutritional value and longer shelf life. //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">** __Concerns of Bio-Engineering:__ ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; vertical-align: baseline;">"[|African Renewal]", African Renewal, United Nations. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The article from the book shows the opinion of Africans, as com ////<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">pared to // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">most news articles from an outside stance. It still states the facts, and includes // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">many quotes directly from the Zambian president on the issue of receiving GM food aid. //

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 120%;">“[|Zambia refuses GM ‘poison.’]”, BBC News. //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Zambia refuses the food aid that th<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">ey could have given to their starving people. The World // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//Health// //Organization, however, had certified the grain and said it was fit for consumption.//

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">“[|FOOD: Rumpus over GM food aid]”, IRIN: Humanitarian Aid and Analysis. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//Most African countries have followed in Zambia’s footsteps after<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> they declared in 2002 that // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">//they didn’t want GM food aid. The article also states a brief background on the means and extent of bioengineering.//

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">“[|GMO]”, Organic Association of Western Australia. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">//This Australian website outlines the basic facts// //and questions about the usage// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">//of GM food. The site also includes a list of websites that produce// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">//GM food and articles related to GM contamination.//

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**__The Concerns of Bioengineering Crops__** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Genetically engineered food has become shockingly widespread in a short amount of time. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">In 1996, only 1% of corn acres and 7% of soybean acres were devoted to genetically modified, or GM, crops. Now, 94% of all soybean acres and 88% of all corn acres are GM crops. Many pro-organic groups have become outraged about this fast and extensive use of GM crops, which pose a threat to human health and safety due to the unnatural chemicals used; the FDA insists that the food is still safe, amidst cries that the FDA gives careless reviews. GM foods pose a threat to environmental stability and human health, particularly through the harmful substances they contain.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The increased production of GM foods has, in turn, increased the amount of environmental problems caused by them. The soil used to grow GM crops is still tainted eight months after the crops are removed. Therefore, even if a farmer waits to plant a new set of crops on that soils after all of the crops in that area have been harvested, the new crops may still contain the modifications that were injected into the harvested crops. Also, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">GM crops can not be separated from other crops. The GM crops may be a half mile away from the modified crops, but cross pollination from GM plants to untainted plants leads to the production of offspring with the genetic modification already within them. This can lead to the mislabeling of GM crops from regular crops, and may induce a reaction to the pesticides or other substances within the serum. Lastly, if a crop is injected with a gene for pesticides, meaning that the organism that the pesticide was designed for will die, it could have serious implications for the consumer. The magazine //Nature// included an article about the implications of GM crops, stating that a recent study showed that the Monarch Butterfly caterpillars had an increased mortality rate after the introduction of a crop of corn that was modified to include the Bt toxin. However, Monarch Butterfly caterpillars usually eat milkweed, a different plant type. The study showed that the pollen from the GM corn had traveled on the breeze to the milkweed, thus poisoning the caterpillars. GM foods harm the lives of all wildlife, especially animals.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> GM foods also pose severe risks to human lives. The substances injected into the crops are highly distrustful, and have varying responses when tested on animals. Allergenicity is a large problem in genetically modifying food. Some crops, like the widely used soybean, are constantly being modified. Since the soybean is used in many cultures throughout the world, some fear that introducing a gene into a plant may create a new allergen or cause an allergic reaction in all types of people. Also, there is the possibility that a trait from another plant, like the peanut for example, could be introduced to a different plant. If this modified plant was consumed by an individual with a peanut allergy, the individual risks going into anaphylactic shock. Lastly, scientists do not know how the modification may affect the consumer. Depending on the individual, a consumer could harbor a dormant gene triggered by the ingestion of the modified food, running the risk of <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"> constricted airways <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px;">, going into anaphylactic shock, or <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">becoming critically ill.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Bio-engineering food is not safe for the environment or for human consumption because of <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">the ingredients in the injected serum. People can become critically ill from consuming GM foods, and the organisms that attempt to graze on GM crops or plants that have been infected with pollen from GM crops are also at risk of serious illness. GM crop production has been steadily increasing in the past 20 years in large countries, including the United States. This increase in larger and longer-lasting foods has shut out the smaller countries whose populations survive on subsistence farming or supplying large corporations. Through globalization, the larger countries have again dominated the global economy, devoting more than 99 million acres to GM crops in the United States and Argentina alone. The producers of GM foods will continue to increase their production, soon leaving the world’s population to never know what unmodified food tastes like.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">__**The Benefits of BioEngineering Crops**__

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Bioengineered or genetically modified foods are terms we use to label food that has been genetically tampered with in attempt to enhance the appearance, shelf life, growing time, and nutritional value of the food sold everyday around the world. Isolating and applying these traits takes place in a laboratory, and it can often times be very time consuming. A majority of the food you eat today has been genetically modified on some level. Genetic engineering can take desirable traits and create plants with those traits very quickly. This is extremely beneficial to locations vulnerable to drought, bug infestations, fluctuating weather patterns, and other environmental hazards. It is clear that the benefits of bioengineering food heavily outweighs the hazards.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">By continuing to genetically modify foods, we are ensuring a food supply for the next generations to come. If the world were to were to continue producing food with the current technologies and without genetic modification, we would not be able to feed the growing population. Malnutrition is very common in third world countries where people rely on a single crop as both the staple in their diet and their source of financial support. Take, for example, rice. Many nations around the world rely on rice as their main source of food, but rice does not contain adequate amounts of necessary nutrients to prevent malnutrition. If we were able to increase the nutritional facets of this important food, the fear of nutritional deficiencies could be alleviated. Blindness due to lack of vitamin A is very common in underdeveloped countries, and scientists have already created a strain of rice containing an unusually high amount of this vitamin. Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, a non-profit organization, the institution plans on giving away the rice to countries that desire it for free. If we were to discontinue the genetic modification of foods, this type of rice would never have the chance to be placed on the market at all.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Another unknown enhancement to food is the application of vaccines into vegetables. Pharmaceuticals are generally expensive to produce and often require special packaging for transportation that underdeveloped nations cannot afford. Researchers are working to develop a type of edible vaccine that can be ingested from enhanced tomatoes or potatoes. Not only will these food items be easier to ship, but they will be cheaper, easier to store, and easier to administer than current vaccines. Another major issue with growing crops all over the world is ground pollution. Many areas are unable to harbor crops due to metals and mineral deposits that destroy growing roots and plants. Scientists are creating plants, such as the poplar tree, that they genetically engineer to clean up heavy metal pollution from contaminated soils. This allows farmers to grow even organic foods in new areas that would have otherwise been hostile.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Genetically-modified foods have the potential to solve many of the world's hunger and malnutrition problems, and to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The only option we have is to genetically modify foods, and in no way is it hazardous enough to fully stop research and production. The safety of bioengineering is increasing daily, and scientists are working to improve the lives of people all over the globe. The choice is simple.

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