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Essay Subject: Development & growth of genetically modified food. Results. Safety standards. Proponents & critics.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Development & growth of genetically modified food. Results. Safety standards. Proponents & critics. Paper Introduction: For thousands of years, farmers have bred crops and animals to produce better outcomes in terms of crop yields, pest or drought resistance, speed of ripening, or growth rate. Now they are doing it with the aid of biotechnology by using genetically modified organisms to produce their desired results (Maynard, 2000). For instance: a stalk of corn that breeds pest-resistant corn, a potato that becomes resistant to the protein beetle, a strawberry that can withstand frost, and a soybean whose DNA is spliced with that of a petunia to produce a plant engineered to survive otherwise toxic doses of herbicide, are all products of genetically modified plants. Traditional crossbreeding in plants requires the mixing of thousands of genes in the hopes of developing a plant with the desired trait. With biotechnology, characteristics can be indiv Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. By altering the genetic code of the Coffee arabica plant, scientistsmay soon be able to switch off the gene coding for caffeine, and thusremove it from the coffee before it ever grows (Curry, 2 ). C2. Food fears. For instance: a stalk of corn that breedspest-resistant corn, a potato that becomes resistant to the protein beetle,a strawberry that can withstand frost, and a soybean whose DNA is splicedwith that of a petunia to produce a plant engineered to survive otherwisetoxic doses of herbicide, are all products of genetically modified plants. Critics claim that tinkering with food could go haywire as genes areshuffled around (Maynard, 2 ). Starlink, which is approved in the United States for use in animalfeed but not for human consumption, has also been reported in bakingproducts in Japan, where it is not approved for use in anything (Pollack,2 ). (2 , November). An American-Canadian company has genetically engineered a new varietyof salmon that grows up to four times faster than natural, farm-raisedsalmon (Klose, 2 ). Environmental organizations such asGreenpeace, and some scientists, are concerned about the longterm healthproblems of gene splicing. (2 ). With so much potential for good, itdoes not seem that it will be possible for opponents of geneticallymodified food to turn back the tide of biotechnology in food production. S. U. 12. When it wasfound in September of this year that some products on store shelves,particularly taco shells, contained Starlink corn, all products containingthe product were pulled from shelves and ConAgra and other U. Kilman, S. Gower, T. A23. (2 ). Biotech at the table. Cool beans! Better Homes andGardens, 78, B. Biologically altered corn isused in breakfast cereals and taco shells, corn syrup, soft drinks, bakedgoods, and candies. So far there is no strong evidence that any of the geneticallymodified products on the market are harmful. Animal-plant genetic crossovers are also proving useful. USA Today(Magazine), 129, p. Klose, C. By inserting pest-resistant traits in plants,the technology is already reducing the amount of pesticide used on crops,and future advances may produce hardier crops in much higher yields so thatfarmers would be less vulnerable to the vagaries of weather and lessinclined to carve out new land from the endangered rain forests becausetheir old fields are exhausted. 3. Monsanto has also produced bug-proofpotato and cotton seeds, allowing cotton farmers in this country to cutback on the amount of insecticide they use on this crop by two millionpounds a year. Now they are doing it with the aid ofbiotechnology by using genetically modified organisms to produce theirdesired results (Maynard, 2 ). Washington Post, p. They also suggested the government:develop better tests to identify allergy-causing proteins in geneticallymodified foods; prevent genes that have been introduced into crops fromspreading to wild relatives of these crops, resulting in herbicide-resistant "super weeds;" have mandatory labeling of genetically modifiedproducts; and conduct animal testing to study the potential toxicity of theproducts and their impact on human growth and development. Flour, meal and other commercial baking ingredientsalso had to be recalled. It is believed that the same process can be used to produceother enzymes such as lipases and proteases used in pharmaceuticals andspecialty chemical and industrial products which currently have to be madein fermenters in a labor- and time-intensive process that is relativelycostly. Kellogg Co. Because of difficulties in ensuring that unapproved varieties arenot exported, shipments of American corn to Europe have shrunk to extremelylow levels in recent years. News & World Report,129, p. Genetically altered tomatoes go into spaghetti sauceand pizza topping (Maynard, 2 ). For thousands of years, farmers have bred crops and animals to producebetter outcomes in terms of crop yields, pest or drought resistance, speedof ripening, or growth rate. Meanwhile,genetically modified products being developed for the future include: frost-tolerant sugarcane; rice engineered with vitamin A to prevent blindness indeveloping countries; milk with less lactose for lactose-intolerant people;nuts and other products that don't cause allergies; cereals with enhancedfiber content; oils with increased essential fatty acids; and fruits withincreased vitamin and mineral content. In highly developedcountries, where food supplies are abundant, the potential benefits ofgenetically engineered foods may not outweigh the benefits, but in thedeveloping world, where food production is more marginal and populationscontinue to burgeon, the risk-benefit calculations are different. The first biotechnically altered food to reach the market was thetomato in 1994. was forced to shut down production ofa cereal plant in Battle Creek, Michigan because it was unable to find asupplier for corn that could guarantee it to be free of Starlink corn(Kellogg, 2 ). Food industries hope that the geneticmodification will yield more nutritious foods or even foods that couldpotentially deliver certain medications just by their consumption. New York Times, p. Behind the biotech push: world hunger.Christian Science Monitor, p. (2 , November). Los AngelesTimes, p. Apotato plant has been developed that can do both at once (Industrialenzymes and Food, 2 ). Using plants such as the potato as Abioreactors@ is much easierand cheaper. Politically, the subject has caused problemsfor the United States in that critics in Europe and other countries arerefusing to buy genetically modified foods. Proponents of biotechnology believe they are merely improving theefficiency of what has been done naturally for thousands of years (Gower,2 ). Withbiotechnology, characteristics can be individually selected and added to aseed. While some critics fear thatgenetic engineering may produce foods which would incite allergic reactionsin people, scientists point out that it is more likely that two speciescrossbred in the old fashioned way would create novel allergens becausemore genes are being shuffled that way. C2. Current Health, 27, pp.22-24. companieshad to recall or replace hundreds of corn-derived items, ranging from tacoshells to corn chips. S. Some crops are grown for food, and others for consumer goods. Kellogg forced to close cereal plant. B6. (2 , October). ConAgra pulled some items last monthdue to presence of Starlink corn. A gene from a rat, when added to lettuce seeds, results inleafy greens that contain up to seven times more vitamin C than normallettuce. (2 , October). They hope tobe able to do the same with tea. Starlink corn is one of several cornvarieties grown in the United States that are genetically modified to maketheir own insecticide, but is the only one that isn't approved for use infood because regulators have not been able to prove that the uniqueStarlink toxin isn't a potential food allergen (Kilman, 2 ). In April, the National Academy of Sciences endorsed the safety ofbioengineered plants, but offered advice to the government to make sureplants that have been bioengineered to produce their own pesticides don'tharm insects that are not pests. It is now estimated thatapproximately 7 percent of the foods we eat have some geneticallyengineered components. By 1998, 25 percent of the corn and 38 percent of thesoybeans grown in the United States were genetically altered (Maynard,2 ). Approximately 6 percent of processed foods contain soy and cornderivatives, which can end up in such diverse foods as salads, corn chips,oils, french fries, snacks, or side dishes. The corn has been approved forconsumption in the United States, Canada and Japan, but not in Europe,where the opposition to genetically modified food has been the mostintense. A recent uproar has developed over the finding ofgenetically altered corn which has not yet met with government approval forhuman use in many types of food. Monsanto has developed a variety of corn mated with a bacteriumwhich is toxic to caterpillars, which can destroy up to 3 million bushelsof corn a year in the United States. They quote health concernssuch as: genetically altered foods may have longterm impact on other cropsor species and the environment, and there may be unpredictable combinationsof genetic material or damage to the ecosystem; there is a possibility thatgenetically modified food produced with antibiotic resistant genes mightcreate resistance to antibiotics in humans who eat products containingthem; genetically modified foods may trigger the immune system to producean allergic reaction, although new genetically modified foods are testedfor potential allergens before marketing. In someregions of India, for example, crop losses can run up to 5 percent.Farmers there cannot afford to ignore the potential application ofbiotechnology to farming. Cellulase is an enzyme used to break down plant material and isutilized in a wide variety of applications from food processing to ethanolproduction. The FDA posted an enforcement notice on its Web Sitesaying that ConAgra voluntarily recalled ingredients distributed to foodmanufacturers in 11 states. Friends of the Earth, an environmental group, said that tests itcommissioned had detected a bioengineered corn variety known as RoundupReady, made by Monsanto, in four brands of tortilla chips sold in Britainand Denmark (Pollack, 2 ). For example, a Brazil nut genewas recently put into a soybean, and people who are allergic to nuts couldpotentially develop an allergic reaction by eating a product containing themodified soybean. Now it is almost impossible to find foods which do not contain someof these genetically engineered ingredients. This is having a profound effect on agriculture because it can makea crop more resistant to pests, herbicides, or disease; make a plantproduce more of a nutrient such as a protein or a vitamin; and increasecrop yield (Maynard, 2 ). Industrial enzymes and food in one plant. Group reports genetic corn in Europeanfood. (2 ). 256-262. Taking agene from the flounder, which thrives in icy ocean waters, and putting itinto a plant, scientists have developed a tomato that resists freezing(Gower, 2 ). Caffeine itself is not related in any way to flavor, somaking the genetically altered plants will allow growers to producecaffeine-free coffee and tea with all the natural flavor preserved. However, several large UnitedStates companies, including McDonald=s, Heinz, Frito-Lay and Gerber havevowed to scale back the use of genetically engineered crops in making theirproducts. Traditional crossbreeding in plants requires the mixing of thousandsof genes in the hopes of developing a plant with the desired trait. In the United States, the FDA, focuses on the safety of a newplant, animal or product rather than how it was developed; theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) establishes regulations andregistration requirements based on the toxicity and environmental impact ofnew pesticide products or plants with pesticide traits; and the USDAdevelops policy and regulations and reviews all environmental releases ofgenetically engineered organisms, plants and animals (Maynard, 2 ). Currently, decaffeinated beverages aremade by a solvent extraction process which also removes flavor and tastefrom the beans. Maynard, C. 88. Pollack, A. It is a corn variety manufactured to haveresistance to Monsanto=s Roundup herbicide. References Belsie, L. Genetically engineered potatoes have beenproduced which have valuable enzymes in their stalks, but the tubers remainnormal potatoes. In general, the government defends genetically manufactured foodsbecause increasing crop yields allows the feeding of millions of people inthe Third World (Maynard, 2 ). New genes? (2 , October). TheFDA is currently reviewing the salmon for possible approval, and say thiswill provide a good model for how to regulate similar products in thefuture. Wall St. Curry, A. J., p. The transformed plants produce cellulase enzymes in thefoliage. Other plants as well as the potato, in which there are non-edible parts, could also be used, allowing the farmer to sell two productsfor the cost of growing one. Many European nations are adopting such high safety standards thatbiotech seed companies may find it difficult to commercialize theirgenetically manufactured products, and the European Union, Japan, Australiaand New Zealand are considering mandatory labeling of food containinggenetically altered ingredients (Belsie, 2 ). The technology vastly increases production and cutscosts, and is in high demand, particularly in developing countries. There is a question of whether foods containing genetically modifiedingredients should be labeled so that people can decide whether or not tobuy them. Should you fear the new foods? (2 ). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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