Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. This summary will discuss some of the potential disadvantages of GMOs. GMOs carry risks such as unintended gene transfer between crops and other plants, which could harm the environment. They may also introduce new allergens in food crops that could impact human health. While GMOs aim to increase crop yields and reduce costs, their widespread use could also lead to economic dependence on corporations that produce GMOs and dominate the agricultural industry. There are also ethical concerns regarding genetic modification of organisms and its perceived unnatural effects. More research is needed to fully understand both the risks and benefits of GMOs.
2. WHAT IS GMO? A GMO is a genetically modified organism (also called "genetically engineered"): a plant, animal, or microorganism that is created by means that overcome natural boundaries. Genetic engineering involves crossing species that could not breed in nature. For example, genes from a fish have been placed in strawberries and tomatoes.
3. Uses GMOs have widespread applications. They are used in biological and medical research, production of pharmaceutical drugs, experimental medicine (e.g. gene therapy, and agriculture (e.g. golden rice). The term "genetically modified organism" does not always imply, but can include, targeted insertions of genes from one species into another. For example, a gene from a jellyfish, encoding a fluorescent protein called GFP, can be physically linked and thus co-expressed with mammalian genes to identify the location of the protein encoded by the GFP-tagged gene in the mammalian cell. Such methods are useful tools for biologists in many areas of research, including those who study the mechanisms of human and other diseases or fundamental biological processes in eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells.
4. Genetically modified food controversies The genetically modified foods controversy is a dispute over the relative advantages and disadvantages of genetically modified (GM) food crops and other uses of genetically-modified organisms in food production. The dispute involves biotechnology companies, governmental regulators, non-governmental organizations and scientists. The dispute is most intense in Japan and Europe, where public concern about GM food is higher than in other parts of the world such as the United States. In the United States GM crops are more widely grown and the introduction of these products has been less controversial.
5. GMO Debate Reveals Advantages, Disadvantages Genetic modified organisms have become a regular part of today’s marketplace. As a technology that produces more crops, provides biofuels and curtails rising food prices, yet also presents a pollution risks and is not regulated by law, GMOs have become a topic of controversy leading to a great debate on their advantages and disadvantages. Supporters believe that GMOs, a resource used to make alternative fuels, could lessen the nation’s oil dependence as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Pro-GMO advocates also argue that GMOs increase the amount of crops produce, thus decreasing food prices. GMOs critics debate that biofuels made from GMOs do more harm than good, arguing that the mass amount of raw material and land required to make biofuel actually increases costs. Further more, critics also argue that GMOs, once planted, run the risk of contaminating nearby plants. Even when GM crops are planted away from other plants, winds and water runoff threaten to spread the seeds and spores of GMOs far from where they are growing. Finally, Anti-GMO advocates argue that there is no GMO-free certification, thus consumers are left in the dark as to where what they are eating has been grown and processed.
6. What disadvantages those GMO have? the disadvantage of GMO is that generally modified organsim is modified of general but then again modified organsm is GMO that generally modified the organism but the modified organism is not general and the organism that is modified is general but organism that modifies general it is generally modified organism or GMO.
7. disadvantages of GM foods to human health The study was conducted at Newcastle University on seven human volunteers who, in the past, had their lower intestine removed and now use colostomy bags. After eating a burger containing GM soy, researchers compared their stools with 12 people with normal stomachs. They found "to their surprise" that "a relatively large proportion of genetically modified DNA survived the passage through the small bowel." None was found in people who had complete stomachs. To see if GM DNA might be be transferred via bacteria to the intestine, they also took bacteria from stools in the colostomy bags and cultivated them. In three of the seven samples they found bacteria had taken up the herbicide-resistant gene from the GM food at a very low level. Michael Antonio, a senior lecturer in molecular genetics at King`s College Medical School, London, said that the work was significant because the researchers demonstrated that you can get GM plant DNA in the gut bacteria, which was previously considered to be not possible. Antonio said the research suggests that antibiotic marker genes could spread around the stomach and compromise antibiotic resistance. If this were to happen, a person could be immune to beneficial antiobioti medicines. Marker genes are inserted into GM plants to allow identification of GM cells or tissue during development. The House of Lords has called for them to be phased out as swiftly as possible. The research was conducted at the request of the UK's Food Standards Agency, which released a statement saying the research, "concluded that the likelihood of functioning DNA being taken up by bacteria in the human or animal gut is extremely low."
8. Environmental Impacts The creation of GMOs can lead to negative environmental impacts which might not be foreseeable when the GMO is created. For instance, an alteration to a certain plant might make it inedible or harmful to another organism such as an insect that relies on it for food. In some cases this can be a benefit, to protect the plant against pests, but it may also be a drawback if it harms organisms that are desirable or upsets the balance of the food chain. According to the Human Genome Project Information website, GMOs can result in unintended transfer of genes through cross-pollination, leading to unknown effects on other organisms.
9. Health Another danger of GMOs is their potential to harm human health. Altering the genetic makeup of an organism could potentially introduce new allergenic properties to it. Some plants, such as peanuts, have powerful allergens that can kill humans. If a gene of a peanut were used to enhance a more common food crop, such as corn, it might introduce a similar allergen which could have a severe health impact.
10. Economics Since GMOs have the potential to replace standard crops, the companies that produce them and the farmers who are able to use them stand to profit greatly. This could reduce the amount of competition between farmers and give the companies that create GMOs great power in the agricultural industry. Companies may even try to patent the genetic code of GMOs that they produce. This could create situations where a corporation essentially owns exclusive rights to produce and sell a certain organism. Technologically advanced countries would likely benefit the most economically from increasing GMO production. The Human Genome Project Information website states that GMOs may lead to increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries.
11. Ethics Critics of GMOs sometimes make arguments against genetic engineering on ethical grounds. For instance, some people feel it is unnatural or wrong to introduce the genes of animals into plants or from one plant to another, which may be likened to "playing God." In addition, animals used in genetic engineering procedures may be subjected to pain and stress.
12. CONCLUSION There are many ethical issues related to the growing and consumption of genetically engineered crops. They hold potential to greatly increase the nutritional value of food as well as the productivity of crops, while at the same time provide many safety as well environmental concerns. These decisions need to be looked at by all of humanity since everyone is directly affected by the choices. While each person can read these details and come to different conclusions on the value of genetically engineered foods as well as the ethical choices being made by the companies in charge of producing these foods. The ultimate choice on genetically engineered foods should be placed onto a well informed consumer not held in the dark by those in power of the government and large corporations which may not have the general public’s interests as their primary goal.