Genetically Modified Organisms in Food Essay example

Genetically Modified Organisms in Food Tomatoes, soy beans and McDonald’s French fries- what all of these things have in common? They are all some of the most commonly genetically modified foods on the market today. With scientists in the race to invent newer and better everythings, genetically modified organisms, or â€Å"GMOs† have become a hot topic of research in just the past 10 years. By using the genetic information from one organism, or the â€Å"DNA† and splicing it with the DNA of another, scientists can make food crops grow bigger, stay fresh longer, or even create their own pesticides. In this case however, and often with any case involving genetic modification, the technology has exceeded the practicality of this innovation.†¦show more content†¦Among the list of foods genetically created is a product from the Biotech Corporation; A modified tomato called the â€Å"FLAVR SAVR†, and in theory this sounds like marvelous invention. It is larger, better tasting, and stays fres h longer than commercial tomatoes on the market. How did they do it? The FLAVR SAVR tomato was created by combining conventional tomato genes with genes of an arctic trout. This was no natural or logical combination of genes and certainly presents a lot of complication when arriving to the market. Will people with a sea food allergy be able to eat the FLAVR SAVR? Would these new trout genes allow new types of bacteria to form on the tomatoes making them especially hazardous to eat? With so many new attributes introduced through this new DNA it is difficult to know the potential side effects from these new foods. For centuries now farmers have been able to cross breed various strains of sweet corn to make it grow even sweeter, or to make potatoes grow bigger, but mixing tomatoes and fish is a match that could only have been made in a laboratory. Since it wasn’t until recently that such technology was feasible, there is no real way of knowing whether genetically modified foods would take a negative impact on the body. Many activists tend to cite an incident that occurred in 1989 concerning the nutritional supplement, L- Tryptophan. What was originallyShow MoreRelatedGenetically Modified Organisms And The Food844 Words   |  4 Pages Do you know exactly what is in the food you eat every day? Do you read the food labels every time you eat different food? Are companies, factories, or stores stating the truth when they claim that their food is â€Å"organic† or â€Å"natural†? The answer is probably no, unless you really are interested in what you eat. But for the most part, a great majority of the population in this country have no idea what is in their food. Most of them probably don’t even know what the definition of the word â€Å"organic†Read MoreGenetically Modified Foods and Organisms974 Words   |  4 Pagesuse of biotechnology in agricultural production is a major tool for enhancing food security and sustaining the environment. Biotechnology is considered important in addressing the challenge of food availability, alleviation of poverty and environmental conservation. In this regard (Tramper et al 408), it is important to note that GMOs are produced by the introduction of extra genetic information into a certain organism through genetic engineering. The methods are a natural creation of the strategiesRead MoreGenetically Modified Organisms And Foods1445 Words   |  6 PagesGenetically Modified foods have been around for many years and have been in the products we consume daily. By being able to alter their genes into making them grow in a certain way like faster, tastier, and reproduce faster, these modifications allow for the plants and crops to have new varieties of plants and crops that will be formed gradually. These modifications allow the plants to be more resistant to viruses, pesticides, and insects that can ruin the lifespan of the plants and crops and harmRead MoreGenetically Modified Organisms And Food1200 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Æ' Genetically Modified Organisms in Food Genetically Modified Organism’s were introduced back in the 1990’s; however, scientists first discovered that DNA could be transferred from one organism to another back in 1946 (Bawa and Anilakumar, 2013). It consists of organisms in which their genes have been altered. Whether it’s an animal or a plant, nothing is perfect; desired traits are scattered all around so scientists are now able to retrieve the DNA from one living organism, virus, or bacteria andRead MoreGenetically Modified Organisms And The Food Supply1642 Words   |  7 Pagesconsumer’s food without the world’s communities approval and it still continues today. Genetically modified organisms have contaminated the food supply. â€Å"A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced in the genes of an unrelated plant or animal† (Seeds of Deception). The results have no health benefits, only financial benefits to the companies that produce them. The genetically modified organismsRead MoreGenetically Modified Organisms And The Food System1684 Words   |  7 Pages or â€Å"genetically modified organisms,† are plants or animals that have been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria, viruses or other plants and animals. These experimental combinations of genes from different species cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding. There are currently eight Genetically modified organisms available in grocery stores across America, they are cotton, alfalfa, papaya, squash, soybeans, canola, corn and sugar beets. Many believe putting genetically modifiedRead MoreGenetically Modified Foods and Organisms Essay949 Words   |  4 PagesThe people’s interest in where their foods come from and how they are processed has increased steadily with growing health concerns and ecological problems. As the amount of genetically modified (GM) crop s have increased rapidly in recent years, the debates on whether GM foods are truly beneficial or not have become prevalent. Scientists around the world are making their sentiments known. Over eight hundred scientists around the world signed an open letter to all governments, the UN, the World TradeRead MoreGenetically Modified Organisms and Food Essay951 Words   |  4 PagesThe term GMO or Genetically Modified Organism refers to an individual form of life in which the genome is changed or modified through genetic engineering. In other words, the DNA from an organism is modified in a laboratory and then inserted into another organism’s genome for the purpose of producing positive traits that would be useful, creating a new organism. This science of genetic manipulation has been utilized for many different purposes. One important area in which it is controversial is agricultureRead MoreGenetically Modified Organisms For Food Sources Essay1430 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction: GMO, genetically modified organisms, are organisms that are used for food sources and are manipulated by biotechnology, most often by gene transfer (Ahmed, 2002). Most agricultural food sources such as fruits, vegetables, or any other mass-produced crops are known examples of GMO (Owens, 2000). Many question the ethics or reasoning behind the production of GMOs due to its interference with naturally bound events but biotechnological gene transfer is vastly beneficial because it leadsRead MoreGenetically Modified Organisms And Food Benefulation1774 Words   |  8 Pagesmade it necessary to selectively breed plants and animals to keep up with the demands for food. As technology has evolved even further, biotechnology has become a popular option. Recently, there has been a push for the use of genetically modified seeds and organisms (GMOs) for food relief. This push of genetically modified seeds in North America is at such a large scale that the quality of non-genetically modified cro ps is being jeopardized. The GMO push has become a controversial issue and concern globally