GM Food? No, Thanks!

The most common are transgenic plants, including corn and soybeans. Now, since these are modified to acquire a resistance to a pesticide or herbicide, with the aim of obtaining a higher yield of the crop. The existence of plants resistant to chemicals causes a reduction of natural predators of this plant, thereby affecting subsequent levels of the food chain, as the birds need insects to feed, and may even trigger a difficulty exists for that natural predators the plant. In consequence of these events will be possible to create adverse effects on the insect pests that are important to agriculture and result in the rapid growth of resistant insects (natural selection). You cant separate from conventional transgenic crops because the pollen grains travel distances on the order of 180 km per day, and you can have a spread of pollen grains of transgenic plants for the natural plants, that is, there will be a "contamination" the air by plants from natural plants modified, thereby converting these plants in "copies" of those that had been genetically modified, converting all plants affected in plants with the same characteristics as transgenic, so changing biodiversity. There is the possibility of developing allergies to transgenic products. The creation of new proteins synthesized by the transgenic genes may have an allergic potential of our body and are on sale in supermarkets products with many substances whose transgenic allergenic potential has not been tested. The existence of GM crops can harm those farmers who do not use them. How? Simply because the law always defend large multinational companies. What happens is that whenever there is genetic contamination of conventional crops by GM pollen, these transgenic crops are now well, and companies responsible for production of transgenic seeds has the "right" to be in possession of agricultural land because now have become the seeds that were agricultural fields, and the owner in addition to losing their culture is still liable to pay compensation for having "used" seeds that were not his. The transgenic bearing genes that confer resistance to some bacteria can cause a strengthening of these bacteria against which they operate. Bacteria that survive the resistance of transgenic plants, a process of natural selection, will reproduce, creating new colonies of bacteria that are unaffected by these transgenic plants, thus developing a new type of bacteria and emerging new diseases in plants . The excess chemicals that come from the use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture, not only has a negative impact on the environment, but also a risk to public health. If we consider that foods from transgenic fields are irrigated with excessive pesticides and herbicides, these same chemicals will come to our table, even in minute quantities in food. Experts say the amount of chemicals that has the potential to reach our homes is "banal" to provoke some kind of impact on health, but they sure do not do well too! The studies on genetically modified organisms are short-lived and superficial, it is not possible to assess with certainty the damage caused by the introduction of GMOs into the environment. There is a lack of information on genetically modified organisms, and much of the population is not informed of their design and in general do not even know what it is a GM. In addition, even the part of the population with knowledge of the subject and the possible impacts do not have information when it is obvious to eat GM products. Nuno Carrilho N7 11A

Cloning: Yes or No?

One issue which has caused greater division of society today is cloning. Today we are confronted with different opinions on cloning, without which, incidentally, none of them is perfectly acceptable and correct. It is therefore essential to approach a clear and precise about a subject as controversial as cloning. In my opinion, cloning presents two faces, each with completely different characteristics. Within a society in which the disease seem to rule before the therapy, it is indeed essential to find ways to reverse this situation. With the cloning of embryos will be able to get stem cells from which it could manufacture organs and tissues. How many people will benefit from these techniques? In some cases it is affirmed by the scientific community that cloning will fight cancer. Since then, the cancer one of the most dangerous diseases of our world, why not open the door to cloning? On the other hand, not only in men can produce, by means of clones, most proteins in their milk pure and in larger quantities! Milk being a "valuable," why so much uncertainty in moving permanently to cloning? In fact, these benefits are very important taking into account only the scientific advances. On the other hand, consider then the cloning under the ethically and morally. It appears that progress towards the cloning of human embryos is truly unethical, it can be argued that cloning is within the bounds of ethics. No one knows how the success of cloning! What is the condition of a cloned baby? Will live in good health? Do not be correct to "produce" a human being in the laboratory with the same genetic information of another, that there is no doubt. We humans do not have the right to clone a baby with the simple reason that it needed to advance science and to find effective therapies. From this point of view, cloning is in fact a "criminal irresponsibility" and cant be supported and promoted: What are the consequences of this practice fall into the hands of terrorists? As can be discovered by cloning therapies, may also create new diseases! What would be the effect if that happened? Certainly devastating! Finally, faced with such and such a controversial issue, it is extremely important to find a converging point, so that both the moral and ethical, are not really harmful. Have to be examined all the ideas in this regard, because once opened the door to a scientific practice such as cloning will be completely impossible to drive her home. Nuno Carrilho N7 11A