Script- GMO’s Food Diversity Presentation.

AMANDA-Voiceovers and graph explanations

SAM-Voiceovers
MARGARET-On-screen video

!!MENTION THAT IT IS GLOBAL!!

WHITEBOARD
SAM
[voiceover]:
There are ​7 BILLION​ of people in the world today. That number is not
getting smaller. THe challenge we face is how do we feed everyone?

[ADD CHART]

CAN SCIENCE HELP ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM? IS THE ANSWER GMO?

GMOs. What are they? A genetically modified organism is the result of

a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are
extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated
plant or animal. The genes may come from bacteria, viruses, insects,
or animals.

Today, 70% of all packaged foods in the US have some form of a

genetically modified ingredients. From corn and canola oil to ketchup
and chewing gum, GMO’s are almost unavoidable.

[ADD GRAPH OF 70 PERCENT]

GMO’s are not just in the foods you eat, but they are also in the
feed of the meats you buy. A major problem however, are its effects
on the food diversity of the world.
Companies such as Monsanto are monopolizing agriculture. , farms must
buy new seeds every year because they have made it illegal to grow
second generation seeds. They must buy new seeds every year, which
increases the cost for farmers as Monsanto’s premium seeds don’t come
cheap.
Monsanto is the creator and owner of Roundup, a glyphosate pesticide
that kills all plants, but Monsanto creates GMO seeds that are immune
to Roundup. The Environmental Protection Agency does not test for
residues in food having decided that they pose no risks. But earlier
this year, The World Health Organization unanimously re-classified
Roundup to be potentially carcinogenic to humans.

FILM LABELS
It may be a win for Monsanto financially, but what is the true cost?
The US government, doesn’t require GMO foods to be labeled. in
contrast to 64 other nations like the European Union, Japan, and
China. The Food and Drug Administration rely on the large
biotechnology companies (Such as Monsanto) to affirm whether the GMO
is safe and sustainable. This type of self-regulation has a conflict
of interest.

This is an unnatural burden for a monocultural crop. The lack of

biodiversity inhibit resistance to disease, and a single
vulnerability to that monoculture crop can cause large scale famine.

Unfortunately, agribusiness is putting a huge ​damper on biodiversity

and food diversity due to its obsession with monoculture farming.
This is especially bad with GM foods because not only are farmers
only growing one crop, but the plants themselves are all genetically
the same and from the same source.

Insert the clip when in supermarket saying--​ When you walk into the
average american grocery store, it will be most likely that you won’t
see 300 different varieties of corn. Rather, you’ll see one type,
most likely sweet corn. The original ancestor of the sweet corn had
about 6 kernels per stalk. Today, there are too many to count on one.
Also, you probably won’t see many cabbage varieties either. 80 years
ago, there were 544!! Now, there are 28 and in this grocery store,
only one. The same can be said for tomatoes, potatoes, onions, you
name it. Agribusiness is fixated on profits. They produce crops that
have high yield, not crops with a genetic potential to resist disease
naturally. Today the trend for genetic diversity is in demand.
Consumers want flavor, variety and choice. Farmers markets, trendy
restaurants feature crops that are not a part of the monoculture nor
monsanto monopoly.

http://victorygardeners.com/2015/08/27/food-diversity-problem-with-me
thods/

ASK ABOUT DAIRY AND EGGS IN VIDEO FROM TUES

 MARGARET
When foods have increased variability in their DNA, they will be more
likely to adapt to changing environments. But when these adaptations
do not occur naturally or are not consistent, it could spur
detrimental problems in the food economy, livelihoods of farmers and
especially in third world countries who are in need of food and
depend on their yearly harvest. It is crucial to them that they don’t
lose entire harvests to pests, or, for example, an unusually bleak
winter. So farmers and scientists turn to genetically modifying
their crops in order to preserve their harvests and increase
protection against these possible problems. For thousands of years
farmers have selectively bred their animals and plants so desirable
traits would arise. So what’s the problem with GE?

AMANDA
[voiceover]: The most important is food diversity. In 1903, there
were 307 different species of sweet corn, today, only 12 species are
left and grown. Due to commercial farming for genetically modifying
certain types of corn with desirable traits, only a tiny fraction of
diversity is left. Similarly, in beets, went from 288 varieties down
to 17. (​MENTION CABBAGE!!​) !! SHOW GRAPH IN VID !!

Almost 90% of all corn grown in the US is genetically engineered.

Food variety extinction is highly likely and is happening fast. ​In
the past, farmers would grow a wide variety of crops, rotating them
in order to maintain the soil’s fertility. However, that system of
farming has “died-out” with the rise commercial farming. Now it’s
more common to continually use large tracts of land for a single
crop. These crops are produced to maximize financial gain and often
qualify for farming subsidies. The United States provides 60% of the
corn export industry. If this were to be targeted by an unforeseen
catastrophe, demand for corn would stay the same while the supply
would drastically decrease, increasing global food prices therefore
making food less affordable, domestically and internationally.

Humans

. effects food supply

GMO crops have been shown to increase food supply by increasing plant
yield. ​But​ there is a cost.
 - monoculture crop have reduced natural resistance to disease
- effects food quality

GMO plants are not bred for flavor

. cannibalism
. economy goes down
.GMO’s will not x`solve world hunger but what really needs is better
administration.
. @ted talk

. farmers are also stopped from having more diversity because they
are forced to use patented seed and go through strict rules that only
allow certain species of the crop
-

SOLUTION:​ Today
50 50! Governments around the world, starting with one of the most
influential one, the US, needs to begin regulating the amount of GMO
crops are grown. Including, preventing monopolies like Monsanto from
taking over the farming industry and preventing farmers from growing
more diverse types of their crops.
- LImit ability to wipe out a crop completely, leaving a
cushion,,
- Give non genetically modified organisms the opportunity to
adapt to new challenges like bacterial resistance and new
climate changes while competing with their genetically modified
parallels.
-70 percent packed foods
- How many species to now
-Most predominant crops with GMOs
-
Mono cultures study- There are two problems with monocrops. The first
is that they are not conducive to good soil health. The second is
that, when all your eggs are in one basket, you’re vulnerable to a
devastating loss; think Irish potato famine. ​Half of our 300 million
farmed acres are planted with corn and soy​, and that’s a very big
basket. ​Soil health is another matter. Growing only one plant tends
to deplete the soil’s nutrients over time, and leaving fields bare
for the winter can hasten erosion. Monocrops also provide a friendly
home for pests that happen to like that crop, since it shows up
reliably, every spring.

UNEQUIVOCALLY

Major Players- seed industries.

What are people doing to avoid GMO’s?

In our society, most people do not avoid GMO’s. However, there are a
handful of people who do try to avoid genetically engineered foods.