1 Kelsie Smart English 2010 T/TH 11:30-12:50 9/23/2013

The Effects of Genetically Modified Food

Whats in our Food?
Have you ever thought about whats in your food? Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) control most of the food that we eat today. With our constant growing population, the food industry has to keep up with the supply and demand. Therefore, many of the foods we eat have been altered with the GMOs. There are Americans who find this controversial because some argue not all of the foods being produced this way are healthy for us. Looking at the history of GMOs we can further understand the use of/why they were made, this is to alleviate the stress of our growing demand for food. The process of how they are created will also be discussed along with the positive and negative effects.

History of GMOs
GMOs are organisms whose genetics material has been altered by means of genetic engineering. When did we first start using GMOs? According to Shireen Karimi an Author for GMO Inside, wrote an article of the GMO Timeline: A History of Genetically Modified Foods, some of the major discoveries were made in the 1900s such as: In 1935 DNA is discovered and isolated by a Russian Scientist whose major focus was on chemistry and biology of proteins, primarily of nucleic acids.

In 1973 the discovery of Recombinant DNA is thought of by a grad student at Stanford University Medical School. In 1975 the Asilomar Conference takes place - basically a bunch of scientist and a few lawyers get together to figure out a safe way to engineer DNA. 1980 First GMO Patent Issued the U.S. Patent Office is settled by a 5-to-4 Supreme Court ruling, allowing for the first patent on a living organism. The GMO in question is a bacterium with an appetite for crude oil, ready to gobble up spills 1982 FDA Approves First GMO - insulin produced by genetically engineered E. coli bacteria appears on the market. 1997 Mandatory Labels - The European Union agrees to favor mandatory labeling on all GMO food products, this includes animal feed. 2011 BT Toxins in Humans scientist discover that genetic altered food can be passed from mother to fetus. 2014 GMO Patent Expires the ready line of genetically engineered seeds will end in one year. A new patent was introduced in 2009 to make the firstgeneration seed obsolete (Karimi page 1). These facts help us to see how GMOs came about, and have become what they are today.

Process of How GMOs are Made

How are GMOs made? In order to explain this further I have found a credited and informational website that gives us some educational insight. According to the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, they state,

There are 3 components required: The gene you want to transfer, the organism you want to put it into (target species), and the vector to carry the gene to the target species cell. The restriction enzyme (molecular scissors) cuts out the gene and isolates it from the original organism. It does this by scanning, targeting and cutting. This enzyme cuts stands at the same position or at different points causing an overhang (Hudson) Putting this into perspective, we can see that a decent amount of technology is required. Without the scientific advances of the 1900s, none of this would be possible. After reading several articles about this institute, I can confirm that they are an authentic source.

The Opinion of the Chief Spokesman of the American Food Industry

After reading the book, Dinner at the New Gene Caf written by Bill Lembrecht, I found Gene Grabowskis (a person quoted in the book) opinion to be quite knowledgeable about the subject. As Vice Preisdent of the Grocery Manufacturers of America and chief spokesman of the American food industry, Grobowski states, Genetically Modified Food is part of the fabric of American life. He explains this better by saying, In a grocery, as much as 70% of the processed food might contain GMOs.(Lambrecht page 3) However, this isnt without controversy, because some Americans grow a part of their diet in gardens. Growing vegetables in a garden will cut that 70% down.

Positive Effects of GM Foods

After looking at several interviews about the subject of GM foods, the one done by Elaine Watson fit the best for the positive effects. Elaine Watson Interviewed Cathy Enright, the

executive vice president for food and agriculture at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) the trade organization for producers of GMO foods. A point in this interview was:

We have a climate in the US now that is incredibly unfriendly to food biotechnology. Yet we need to dramatically increase the protein supply if we are going to feed everyone by 2050. (Enright page 1)

We can see that our climate is not in our favor, yet we need to keep up with our needs in order to sustain our population growth. With our growing knowledge today, should we not be able to come up with a more efficient and safe way?

Another point that Enright made was:

We are not saying that people dont have the right to know whats in their food, but mandatory GMO labeling prominently displayed, as is proposed, is not informing people, its scaring people. Its saying these foods are different, unhealthy or unsafe, and that is just not true. (Enright page 1)

Enright is basically saying that it doesnt matter how/what we modify our food with, as long as we are not starving.

Negative Effects of GMOs

However, according to the Institute for Responsible Technology their argument is a little different they state that GMOs are unhealthy because animal studies showing organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging and infertility. Human studies

show how genetically modified (GM) food can leave material behind inside us, possibly causing long-term problems. Genes inserted into GM soy, for example, can transfer into the DNA of bacteria living inside us, and that the toxic insecticide produced by GM corn was found in the blood of pregnant women and their unborn fetuses.

Numerous health problems increased after GMOs were introduced in 1996. The percentage of Americans with three or more chronic illnesses jumped from 7% to 13% in just 9 years; food allergies skyrocketed, and disorders such as autism, reproductive disorders, digestive problems, and others are on the rise. Although there is not sufficient research to confirm that GMOs are a contributing factor, doctor groups such as the AAEM tell us not to wait before we start protecting ourselves, and especially our children who are most at risk.

Countries that allow or ban GMOs 1 (Image 1)

An example of one of the problems that might affect children is milk and the hormones that are given to cows. The American Public Health Association and American Nurses Association are among many medical groups that condemn the use of GM bovine growth hormone, because

the milk from treated cows has more of the hormone IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1)which is linked to cancer. (Smith)

In Conclusion
According to most Americans, they dont know the difference between food that has been genetically altered and food that is organically grown and produced. According to this chart below the U.S. produces more Biochemically produced food than any other country. And many of them are clueless to this fact.

We can draw several conclusions from the use or non use of GMOs. Our planet may be using resources at a pace in which it might not be able to sustain itself without the use of GMOs to feed its population and keep up with supply and demand; Our planet has ample resources and through development of new technology we need only discover the many
GMO Percentage (Image 2)

resources our planet has to accommodate our growing population without putting them at risk. We will evolve consciously or unconsciously. We will see abundance or famine, lack or plenty, and we will create accordingly.

Work Cited
GL Woolsey and Shireen Karimi . "GMO Timeline: A History of Genetically Modified

Foods. Rosebud, 10 Mar 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.

Hudson , Jim. "How Are GMOs Made?." n.pag.HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. Web. 23 Sept

2013.

Lambrecht, Bill. Dinner at the New Gene Cafe. 1st Edition. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books, 2001. 3.

Print.

Enright, Cathy. Personal Interview. 21 May 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.

Smith, Jeffrey. "10 Reasons to Avoid GMOs." Institute for Responsible Technology. Jeffrey Smith, 06 Jun

2007. Web. 23 Sept 2013.

VAESA, JANELLE. Countries that Allow and Ban GMO Production. 2009. Photograph. Decoded

ScienceWeb. 23 Sept 2013. <http://www.decodedscience.com/gmo-food-pro-andcon/23179/2>. (Image 1)

Clive, James. GMO-Research-Statistics-Genetically-Modified-Foods. 2013. Chart. Unified LifestyleWeb. 23

Sept 2013. <http://www.unifiedlifestyle.com/blog/2011/07/08/genetically-modified-foodsproclamation/>. (Image 2)