CROPS FOR CHANGE
CHANGE THE WORLD WITH GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS
GM FOODS -
"PLANTS FOR THE FUTURE."
GMO-COMPASS.ORG
The new strain of tomato plant with a natural pesticide is the perfect example. Genetically modified foods - otherwise known as GM foods - are food items that have been modified by the insertion of genes from other plants or animals.
The list of benefits for GM foods is endless. They can be created to:
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Taste better
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Grow faster
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Repel certain insects
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Lower the need of pesticides
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Provide more nutrition and even medicines
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Have certain traits
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Resist diseases and droughts
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Increase the production of food
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Help in other industrial applications (ex. fuel)
However...
This "Let's Think" situation was provided by the Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah.
"A biotechnology company introduces a new strain of tomato plant that produces a natural pesticide, making it resistant to the beetle. By switching to this new strain, you could avoid both the beetle and the chemical pesticides traditionally needed to fight it."
"You are a tomato farmer
whose crops are threatened by a persistent species of beetle. Each year, you spend large sums of money for pesticides to protect your crops."
Let's think...
What Would
YOU
Do?
What Are GM Foods?
Blast To The Past: Selective Breeding
The concept of modifying plants so they fit our needs sounds revolutionary, but the process of engineering GM foods derives from a very basic idea: selective breeding. Selective breeding involves taking seeds from plants that contain desirable traits and growing those seeds.
For centuries, humans have selectively bred to create the modern day versions of many foods, including - but not limited to - corn, wheat, and rice. In fact, archaelogists have traced back the first appearance of selective breeding in plants to 10,000 years ago. In a plain located between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers known as the Fertile Crescent, early humans grew cereal crops: barley, einkorn wheat, and emmer wheat. All three of these crops were grown from different types of wild species.
The graphic below has been provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
According to Eleanor Whitney and Sharon Rady Rolfes's book Understanding Nutrition, "Although selective breeding works, it is slow and imprecise because it involves mixing thousands of genes from two plants and hoping for the best. With genetic engineering, scientists can improve crops (or livestock) by introducing a copy of the specific gene needed to produce the desired trait." As opposed to selective breeding - which can take several generations of plants to meet our needs - we can utilize genetic engineering to produce GM crops in a matter of days.
For The People
The big question is: who does genetically modified foods help?
First of all, there are the people who eat the foods. Genetically modified foods can be cheaper while still retaining the same quality as regular crops. Furthermore, some genetically modified crops that are being developed have more nutritional value than their counterparts (for example, purple tomatoes... for more information, click here).
Then, there are the people who grow the foods - in other words, farmers. Farmers can benefit greatly from genetically modified crops because they can be grown with less pesticides, less water, and/or in higher yields. This allows farmers to make more money while providing enough food for our hungry population. For more information on how farmers are helped, click here.
However, the general population and farmers are not the only groups that can benefit from GM foods. Genetically engineered foods can be used to feed people living in poor, rural areas around the world. For more information on products that can help people living in rural areas, click here.
The Challenges
How Are GM Crops Made?
For a basic understanding on how genetically modified crops are produced, check out the video by GMO Answers below!
The process of genetically modifiying a crop is elaborate, but - as the video mentioned - we can summarize the process in a few steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
7.
5.
6.
Gene from the organism should be isolated.
The gene from the organism is chosen based on the desired characteristic in the organism to be modified (i.e. resistance to pests, drought tolerant, etc.)
The chosen gene is placed inside a transfer vector.
When creating genetically modified crops, a popular transfer vector is the Agrobacterium tumefaciens (soil bacterium) plasmid. Once the proper vector has been selected, scientists use recombinant DNA techniques to place the chosen gene inside the vector.
Transformation time!
Once the vector has the chosen gene, it is transferred into the organism to be modified. There are two common methods used for genetically engineering crops. One of the methods utilizes a "gene gun" - a device that is covered in small particles of the vector (containing the chosen gene) that then shoots the particles into the organisms' cells. Another method involves utilizing a bacterium that introduces the vector into the organism's DNA.
The newly genetically modified cells are separated from the organism's regular (and not modified) cells.
This separation can be done in a few ways. One common method is to use marker genes to encourage growth of the modified cells relative to the not modified cells. In order to accomplish this, genes for antibiotic or herbicide resistance are added into the transfer vector along with the chosen gene (step #2 above). Then, the organisms' cells are modified using the vector (step #3 above). So, when this organisms' cells (which are a combination of modified and unmodified) encounter the antibiotic/herbicide, the not modified cells will die off - leaving just modified cells in the end. These genetically modified cells will be grown using tissue cultures to create whole plants (see step #5 below).
Tissue cultures are used to grow the genetically modified cells into entire plants.
This process is done by transferring the plant cells onto nutrient-rich media that will encourage the growth of the cells into plant parts to eventually create whole plantlets. These plantlets will be moved into pots in a controlled environment after they root.
Testing the new plants made from the genetically modified cells.
This involves many components. First, the plants must be verified in order to determine that the chosen gene has been successfully integrated into the modified organism's DNA and is functioning normally (without affecting the organism's other genes). Then, the modified plants with the chosen gene need to be grown in a greenhouse in order to determine if they show/contain the desired characteristic (without any undesired qualities or side effects). The plants that perform the best are grown in a field (in order to determine if they can thrive in an open area) and then grown in different fields (in order to determine if they can thrive in different environments). If the plants perform exceptionally well, the genetically modified plant can be considered for mass-market production.
The genetically modified plants are assessed for safety.
They are assessed by organizations like the Federal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency in order to determine if they are safe for consumption and the environment.
Genetically modified crops have a long list of benefits. And while genetic engineering still has a lot to prove, this field has successfully produced many products for our public. However, the concerns about genetically modified food are a result of the general populations perceived attitudes toward GM crops. These issues involve government's regulations (legal), society's pre-existing norms (ethical), and the general public perception (social). To learn about some of the main legal, ethical, and social issues regarding GM crops (with the focus being the United States), click here.
