This document provides information about genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It defines a GMO as an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The document discusses how GMOs are created using recombinant DNA techniques, and notes that most current GMOs have been engineered for pest resistance and weed control to reduce chemical use. It also reviews some of the debates around GMOs, including their presence in food, their potential risks, and issues of regulatory oversight and consumer labeling.

1. Genetically Modified Organisms

2. When you hear the word GMOs,
what first comes to your mind?
A. Danger/Something bad
B. Farmers
C. Monsanto
D. Good/Something helpful
E. Nothing/ I don’t really know what a GMO is….

3. What is a GMO?
A genetically modified organism (GMO)
is any organism whose genetic material
has been altered using genetic
engineering techniques.
» Genetic engineering alters the genetic
make-up of an organism using
techniques that remove heritable material
or that introduce DNA prepared outside
the organism either directly into the host
or into a cell that is then fused or
hybridized with the host. This involves
using recombinant nucleic acid (DNA
or RNA) techniques to form new
combinations of heritable genetic
material followed by the incorporation of
that material into the host organism.
Video!!

4. DNA from
Species #1
DNA from
Species #2
Recombinant
DNA
• Recombinant nucleic acids (rDNA or rRNA)
are the general name for result of taking a piece
of one DNA and combining it with another
strand of DNA. Recombinant DNA molecules
are sometimes called chimeric DNA, because
they are usually made of material from two
different species.
• If genetic material from another species
is added to the host, the resulting
organism is called transgenic.
• If genetic material from the same
species or a species that can naturally
breed with the host is used the resulting
organism is called cisgenic.
• Traditional breeding encompasses all
plant breeding methods that do not fall
under current GMO regulations.

5. GMO organisms are really not fundamentally
different from other means of plant breeding
and genetics that have been extensively used.
Do you:
A. Agree with the statement
B. Disagree with the statement
C. Not sure / No opinion on the statement

6. Controversy starting with… definitions?
• In the United States, genetic engineering does not
normally include traditional animal and plant
breeding, in vitro fertilization, induction of
polyploidy, mutagenesis, and cell fusion
techniques that do not use recombinant nucleic
acids or a genetically modified organism in the
process. The above listed techniques would be
considered means for genetic modification.
• However, the European Commission has defined
genetic engineering broadly as including selective
breeding and other means of artificial selection
such as those techniques listed above. Thus, in
Europe genetic modification is synonymous with
genetic engineering.

7. GMOs are everywhere
GMOs are the source of genetically
modified foods. About 70% of all
processed foods in North America
contain transgenic material.
They are also widely used in
scientific research and to produce
goods other than food.
GMOs
Animals
PlantsMicrobes

8. GMO Research
Agriculture
• Improvement of crop yields
• Herbicide resistance
• Insect resistance
• Drought, frost, and disease
resistance
• Increased tolerance to salinity,
floods, and low nutrients
• Increased nutrients produced
– Golden rice
• Vaccines transport/intake
Medicine
• Human insulin injections
• Human growth hormone,
HGH
• Blood clotting factor VIII
• Hepatitis B vaccine
• Diagnosing HIV infection

10. Most GMOs have been engineered for pest
resistance and weed control.
• Reduces the amount of chemicals sprayed into the
environment.
• Reduces the use of fossil fuels to apply chemicals.

11. European Corn Borer, Ostrinia nubilalis
• One of the most damaging insect pests of corn
throughout the United States and Canada.
• Losses resulting from European Corn Borer damage and
control costs exceed $1 billion each year.

12. • Bt is a naturally occurring bacterium that
produces Cry toxins that have specific
activities against insect species.
• Can be used in organic food production
• Used to produce GM plants that can
combat insect feeding
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) - 1996

13. Roundup Ready Crops - 1996
• Roundup Ready crops are crops
genetically modified to be resistant to the
herbicide Roundup. Roundup is the
brand-name of a herbicide produced by
Monsanto. Its active ingredient
glyphosate was patented in the 1970s.
• These crops were developed to help
farmers control weeds. Because the new
crops are resistant to Roundup, the
herbicide can be used in the fields to
eliminate unwanted sensitive plants.
Current Roundup Ready crops include
soy, corn, canola, alfalfa, and cotton.

14. Stacked traits are more common
http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption.aspx#.Uxjp_IWmXLk

15. Why do you think most farmers use genetically
engineered (GE) crops?
A. Better for the environment
B. Saves time and helps farm management
C. Increases yield
D. Overall land appearance is better
E. None of these

21. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm143980.htm

25. First Approval: GTC’s ATryn® Producing GE Goats
A specific hemizygous diploid line of domestic goats
(Capra aegagrus hircus) containing 5 copies of the
Bc6 transgene located at the GTC 155-92 site
directing the expression of the human gene for
antithrombin (which is intended for the treatment
of humans) in the mammary gland of goats derived
from Founder 155-92.

26. ATryn Goat Approval
(2/6/09)
2 Separate Legal Actions:
• CVM NADA approval:
– rDNA construct in GE goat to produce rh antithrombin in milk
• CBER BLA approval for ATryn:
– Anticlotting agent for individuals with hereditary clotting disorders in high risk situations

28. Mixing Spider DNA and Goat Embryos
Produces Milk with a Side of Silk
• One of those proteins is from the golden
orb-weaver spider. Its silk, tougher than
Kevlar, is a hundred times stronger than
human ligaments. The potential for a light,
incredibly resilient fiber is immense: The
future might hold anything from spider
knee replacements to spider parachutes.
• But aside from being viscerally disgusting,
a spider farm just won’t work. Golden orb
weavers are cannibalistic. In 2000, Nexia
Biotechnology figured out a solution to
that problem that reads like science
fiction—it bred goats that can produce the
silk instead.

29. • Developments in biotechnology over the past 25 years have
allowed scientists to engineer genetically modified (GM)
animals for use in various areas of agriculture and
medicine.
• The great majority of GM animals and fish are currently
only at the research stage.
• Some animals with an anticipated use in food production
are close to reaching the grocery shelf
• GM livestock include many different kinds of animals and
species modified with the intention of improving
economically important traits such as growth-rate, quality
of meat, milk composition, disease resistance and
survival.
• The number of GM farm animals and fish developed in
laboratories is increasing, but for the present the number
of species close to entering the market remains small.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871141313000334#

30. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm048106.htm

33. If you could buy a glow in the dark pet, would
you?
A. HELL YES! That would be the coolest thing ever!
B. No… way too freaky for me!
C. I would, but I’m allergic 
D. Meh. I have better things to spend my money on.
These animals could cost anywhere between $6,000 and $28,000!

35. Why do you think some individuals are opposed
to GE crops?
A. They are uninformed
B. They are ignorant
C. They have valid points with regards to environmental
health
D. They have valid points with regards to human health
E. They do not like the idea of manipulating nature

37. Cultural Acceptance
Golden Rice
– Fortified with Vitamin A
– In 2000, 124 million people were Vitamin A
deficient (VAD)
– VAD causes blindness and can lead to
death in children if left untreated
– Does NOT look or smell or taste the same
as native rice

38. Two main challenges:
1. Determine how much rice
must be consumed to erase
Vitamin A deficiency
2. Encouraging consumer
acceptance

39. Realities:
- Still not ready
- Not needed/not a realistic
solution
- Breeding problems
- No proof it is safe to eat
- Bioavailability of Beta-carotene
- Unethical trials on humans

40. Bt and HT Problems
 Toxins affect non-
target organisms
 Genetic drift to
invasive weedy
species
 “Super Species” –
naturally
resistance
members of a
population survive
and reproduce,
unable to be
controlled

41. A transgene can be regarded as
having escaped from the crop if:
1. The transgene is transferred by pollination to
a wild related plant that persists in
agricultural habitats becoming a weed or
more weedy
2. The related plant in 1 occupies disturbed
habitats associated with agriculture or other
human activities i.e. roadsides, waterways,
ditches railroad beds
3. The related plant in 1 invades semi-natural
habitats i.e. River deltas, saltmarshes,
woodlands

42. Transfer of transgenes to wild subspecies.

43. JOINTED GOATGRASS
(Aegilops cylindrica)
Weed of Winter Wheat
Reduces grain yields and can be a
contaminant in winter wheat,
reducing prices
Winter annual, spread by seed
only.

44. The potential for a transgene to escape into a
wild species does exist in wheat.

45. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/esoa-sft072110.php
Yes, It Can Happen!

48. So What?
1. Genetic erosion – Centers
of diversity
2. Genetic pollution of
natural gene pools
3. Changes in invasiveness
of the species
1 & 2 are independent of the transgene, while 3 is dependent on the
nature of the transgene.

50. Assumptions about Consumers and Biotechnology
False Accurate
Pro-GMOs
Facts = advocates
Facts mean less than
phrases
Science sells, fear fails
Emotion often wins over
reason
Against-
GMOs
People want to be
informed
People do not necessarily
want to be informed
Risks outweigh
benefits
Benefits are more
important to most people
than risks
Bottom line: mainstream consumer education about biotech
is largely a branding/labeling issue
Wansink, Brian and Junyon Kim. 2001. “The Marketing Battle Over Genetically Modified Foods.”
American Behavioral Scientist (44):8, 1405-1417.

52. high fructose corn
syrup gives a
pleasing brown
crust to breads
enhances
flavors of fruit
fillings.
enhances flavor
and balances the
variable tartness
of tomatoes.
greater stability in
acidic carbonated
sodas, flavors
remain consistent
and stable over
the entire shelf-
life of the product.
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!

53. The lawsuit, filed by California resident
Colleen Gallagher, claims that
Chipotle’s menu was never free of
GMOs at any time, alleging that the
meat products come from animals
which feed on GMOs such as soy and
corn, while the sour cream, cheese and
dairy products come from farms that
feed animals with GMOs.
Likewise, the complaint points out that
the chain sells soft drinks made with
corn syrup — also a GMO.

55. http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/pages/food-labeling.aspx
http://www.ecori.org/massachusetts-farming/2014/3/1/gmo-labeling-in-mass-faces-march-19-deadline.html

56. GMO labeling initiatives by state:
Blue states have introduced GMO
labeling legislation in the form of
bills, resolutions, or ballot measures.
Gray states have yet to review GMO
labeling.
Green states have passed GMO
labeling laws.