You will be graded based on your ability (1) to analyze the short and term polit

Question

You will be graded based on your ability (1) to analyze the short and term political, economic, environmental, health, safety and cultural impact of a proposed engineering solution on society either at the local, regional or global level, and ability (2) to identify current socio-economic, environmental, health and safety issues in engineering. 1. Genetically modified (GM) foods in the marketplace have resulted in intense public debate, scientific discussion and media coverage worldwide. You are to write a detailed report reviewing available information on GM foods from all available sources, including the internet, under the following headings: o Genetically Modified Foods (What Genetically Modified Foods are) n) Benefits of Genetically Modified Foods (ii)The Risks of Genetically Modified Foods Your report, in addition to addressing the above three aspects in appropriate sub-headings, should include: (a) an introduction (b) a conclusion, and (e) list of references; all references should have been specifically cited in the report and not merely produced in the list of references.

Explanation / Answer

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS

i). Genetically modified food (or GM food) is food produced from plants or animals whose DNA has been altered through genetic engineering. These genetically modified organisms are often called GMOs for short.

Genetic engineering is the process of manipulating an organism's genes directly — by, for example, transplanting DNA from other organisms. It's different from the conventional method of selectively breeding plants and animals to get desired traits.

ii). Advantages:

GM foods are useful in controlling the occurrence of certain diseases. By modifying the DNA system of these foods, the properties causing allergies are eliminated successfully.

These foods grow faster than the foods that are grown traditionally. Probably because of this, the increased productivity provides the population with more food.

Moreover these foods are a boon in places which experience frequent droughts, or where the soil is incompetent for agriculture. At times, genetically engineered food crops can be grown at places with unfavourable climatic conditions too.

A normal crop can grow only in specific season or under some favourable climatic conditions. Though the seeds for such foods are quite expensive, their cost of production is reported to be less than that of the traditional crops due to the natural resistance towards pests and insects.

This reduces the necessity of exposing GM crops to harmful pesticides and insecticides, making these foods free from chemicals and environment friendly as well. Genetically engineered foods are reported to be high in nutrients and contain more minerals and vitamins than those found in traditionally grown foods.

Other than this, these foods are known to taste better. Another reason for people opting for genetically engineered foods is that they have an increased shelf life and hence there is less fear of foods getting spoiled quickly.

iii). Disvantages:

The biggest threat caused by GM foods is that they can have harmful effects on the human body.

It is believed that consumption of these genetically engineered foods can cause the development of diseases which are immune to antibiotics. Besides, as these foods are new inventions, not much is known about their long term effects on human beings.

As the health effects are unknown, many people prefer to stay away from these foods. Manufacturers do not mention on the label that foods are developed by genetic manipulation because they think that this would affect their business, which is not a good practice.

Many religious and cultural communities are against such foods because they see it as an unnatural way of producing foods. Many people are also not comfortable with the idea of transferring animal genes into plants and vice versa.

Also, this cross-pollination method can cause damage to other organisms that thrive in the environment. Experts are also of the opinion that with the increase of such foods, developing countries would start depending more on industrial countries because it is likely that the food production would be controlled by them in the time to come.

1). Introduction:

The first genetically modified (GM) plant was produced in 1983, using an antibiotic-resistant tobacco plant. China was the first country to commercialize a transgenic crop in the early 1990s with the introduction of virus resistant tobacco.

In 1994, the transgenic ‘Flavour Saver tomato’ was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for marketing in the USA.

The modification allowed the tomato to delay ripening after picking. In 1995, few transgenic crops received marketing approval.

Genetically modified foods:

Some of the foods that are available in the market include cotton, soybean, canola, potatoes, eggplant, strawberries, corn, tomatoes, lettuce, cantaloupe, carrots etc.

GM products which are currently in the pipeline include medicines and vaccines, foods and food ingredients, feeds and fibres. Locating genes for important traits, such as those conferring insect resistance or desired nutrients-is one of the most limiting steps in the process.

Herbicide resistance

Corn, soy, cotton, canola, rice, alfalfa, beet, flax

Insect resistance

Corn, cotton, potato, tomato

Sterile pollen

Corn, chicory

Virus resistance

Papaya, squash, plum

Delayed ripening

Tomato

Altered oil

Canola, soy

Protein composition

Corn

Reduced nicotine tobacco

Summary:

GM is a recent phenomenon with many unanswered questions. Insertion of genes into other genomes may result in unexpected outcomes.

Moreover, the long-term effects of GM crops aren’t known and may be serious and irreversible.

If the genesis of GM was truly “public good” rather than corporate profitable sustainable agriculture might be able to draw upon GM technologies as assistance rather than the main feature.

Future development:

The GM 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 synthetic pesticides and herbicides.

Challenges ahead lie in many areas viz. safety testing, regulation, policies and food labelling. Many people feel that genetic engineering is the inevitable wave of the future and that we cannot afford to ignore a technology that has such enormous potential benefits.

Conclusion:

According to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), genetically engineered foods have had foreign genes (genes from other plants or animals) inserted into their genetic codes. The potential benefits are foods that are tastier, more nutritious and resistant to diseases and droughts.

The NLM also lists some potential risks, including that the genetic alterations can cause harm and that modified organisms could be inbred with natural organisms, leading to the possible extinction of the original organism.

By far the biggest use of GMO technology has been in large-scale agricultural crops.

References:

Allison S, Palma PM. Commercialization of transgenic plants: potential ecological risks. BioScience. 1997;47:86–96. doi: 10.2307/1313019.

Ballari VR, Martin A, Gowda LR (2012) Detection and identification of genetically modified EE-1 brinjal (Solanum melongena) by single, multiplex and SYBR® real-time PCR. J Sci Food Agric. doi:10.1002/jsfa.5764, Published online 22 June 2012.

Genetically modified foods: safety, risks and public concerns—a review A. S. Bawa and K. R. Anilakumar J Food Sci Technol. 2013 Dec; 50(6): 1035–1046. Published online 2012 Dec 19. doi:  10.1007/s13197-012-0899-1

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