UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

ID: 10827011
KANTAAYEL JUVENTUS

10827011

AGRC312 ASSIGNMENT- PRINCIPLES OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

GENETIC MODIFICATION OF ORGANISMS

The idea of genetically modifying creatures has recently come up for debate.

Although some schools of thought thought it was the proper move toward increasing

agricultural production, others disagreed. The latter is the cause of the genetic

alteration of organisms' delay since people continued to oppose it for reasons they

thought were real. I would also like to weigh in on this constantly-interesting subject.

What is genetic modification of organisms? Genetic modification refers to the

alteration of the genetic material of an organism to produce desired traits using

engineering techniques. An organism whose genetic material has been altered is

called a genetically modified organism (GMO). Recombinant DNA Technology is the

scientific technique used in this procedure.

HOW IS IT DONE?

DNA is inserted into an organism's genome as part of the GM technology. New DNA

is introduced into plant cells to create a GM plant. The cells are typically cultured in

tissue culture after which they transform into plants. The modified DNA will be

passed along to the seeds that these plants generate.

All living things' traits are governed by their genetic makeup and how it interacts with

the environment. The genome, which is formed of DNA in all plants and animals, is

an organism's genetic make-up. Genes, which are sections of DNA that typically hold

the instructions for constructing proteins, are found throughout the genome. These
proteins give the plant its distinctive features. For instance, genes that carry the

instructions for constructing proteins necessary to produce the pigments that give

petals their color are responsible for determining the color of flowers.

Plants can be genetically modified by inserting a particular DNA sequence into their

genome to confer new or different traits. This can entail altering the plant's growth

pattern or conferring disease resistance on it. The new DNA is incorporated into the

genome of the GM plant, which is what the seeds produced by these plants will do.

WHY ARE PEOPLE AGAINST GMOs

Over the past two decades, there has been a great deal of popular hostility to

genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Many individuals think that GMOs harm the

environment and are harmful to human health, even being poisonous. This is despite

the huge body of scientific evidence demonstrating that GMOs are safe to consume

and have positive environmental effects by enhancing the sustainability of agriculture.

Why is the public's perception of GMOs so different from what the science has to say

about them?

People's beliefs concerning GMOs are influenced by their intuitions about intentions

and aims. They make us more susceptible to the thought that events that appear to be

entirely natural are actually caused by an outside force. These presumptions are

fundamental to religious ideas, but in secular settings they cause people to view nature

as a good thing that protects our well-being and that humans should not interfere with.

Genetic engineering is viewed as "unnatural" in the context of GMO opposition, and

biotechnologists are charged of "playing God." The word "Frankenfood" is used to

describe what is at risk: if we act in arrogance and defy nature, we will unavoidably

cause ourselves great harm. These are some statements from anti-GMO activists.

“I remember standing in the bush above this unbelievably wild river, and thinking this
is as good as it gets. Exquisite birdsong, jagged peaks of the Alps beckoning like the

spires of mystical cathedrals, the smell of moisture in the beech forest like an elixir.

Nature in its raw, unpredictable state – at an entirely different end of the spectrum

from the confines of a test tube or comfort of a biotech lab.” - Geoffrey Robert

“When God created the Garden of Eden,

he didn’t use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and GMO apples.” -  Khang

Kijarro Nguyen

“Watching what you eat ought to include knowing what you eat ate.” - Mokokoma

Mokhonoana

Also, people undoubtedly feel disgusted by GMOs because they consider genetic

alteration to be a contaminant. When the inserted DNA originates from a species that

is typically regarded as repulsive, such as rats or cockroaches, the effect is enforced.

People are more skeptical about GM food than other GM applications, such as GM

medicine, which can be explained by the impact of distaste. The claim that GMOs

cause cancer, infertility, or will poison the environment becomes quite persuasive if

disgust is evoked and is frequently utilized. Disgust impairs moral judgments as well,

prompting consumers to criticize everyone involved in the creation and marketing of

GM products.

MY STAND, WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO EMBRACE GENETIC

MODIFICATION OF ORGANISMS?

Contrary to popular belief, farmers may be able to apply fewer (and less harmful)

pesticides on their fields if they grow GMO crops. This is due to the fact that GM

crops can be altered to allow for more focused use of herbicides and insecticides, to

provide greater inherent pest resistance, and to enable GM plants to more successfully

compete with encroaching weeds. There will be no need to purchase pesticides

because the GM plant can withstand attacks from pests and illnesses. This will result

in an increase in revenue for the farmer. Additionally, it will lessen the harm that

pesticides would have done to the ecosystem.

The U.S. Census Bureau population clock estimates that there are 7.15 billion people

on earth. According to several growth models employed by the UN, the world's

population will exceed 9 billion people by 2030 and somewhere around 10.9 billion

by 2050. The majority of population growth will take place in nations that are

currently classified as developing ones. According to the U.N. Food and Agricultural

Organization (FAO), 868 million people worldwide experienced hunger and

malnutrition in 2012, with 563 million of those individuals living in Asia and the

Pacific and 234 million in Sub-Saharan Africa. There is still a long way to go even

though these numbers have decreased from the 1,000 million level noted in 1990.

Increasing pressure to feed a hungry world is being placed on the agriculture sector by

population expansion and climate change. The level of drought in many of the world's

food-producing nations is unprecedented. New blights and invading pests are

adversely affecting food production in other regions. The effects of climate change in

these nations are causing widespread food insecurity in the majority of emerging

nations.

We can create new, resilient crop varieties that are better suited to withstand these

shifting environmental circumstances with the use of biotechnology. We will be better

equipped to handle tomorrow's issues with the help of the GMOs currently under

development, enhanced conventional agricultural practices, and novel biologic crop

protection agents.

Once more, it is untrue that anti-GMO activists consider genetically modified

organisms to be contaminants and a threat to the environment. GM products are some

of the things that have been tested the most globally. If scientists had discovered

something in GM products that would be harmful to human health, they would not

have advocated for its introduction into the human race. The individuals driving the

introduction of GMOs are not extraterrestrials; rather, they are fellow humans who

live here. So why would someone intentionally introduce harmful substances into the

surroundings in which they reside when they are completely aware of the dangers

involved? Isn't that a suicide, then? Who on earth would join forces with more than a

million experts from around the globe to commit suicide?

The way things were in the past has changed. Things have changed, and in order to

adapt to these changes, humans must also adjust. We cannot maintain a false sense of

security while internally bleeding. The DNAs of a GM and a non-GM species is the

only distinction. Aside from that, their quality, nutrition, and look are all the same.

Additionally, the GM product is far ahead in terms of reproduction and yield.

Therefore, instead of perpetuating outdated beliefs against GMOs, why not embrace

them and help the world go in the direction that we all desire?

In the field of medicine, GMOs play a very important role in the production of

pharmaceuticals. Since the 1980s, GMOs have been one of the pillars of biomedical

research. For instance, GM animal models of human genetic disorders allowed

researchers to test innovative treatments and investigate the functions of potential risk

factors and illness outcome modifiers. By making it possible to create more effective

and affordable vaccines and therapies, GM microorganisms, plants, and animals also

changed the manufacturing of complex medications. Pharmaceutical products include

the injectable insulin (for diabetics) produced in GM Escherichia coli bacteria, the

recombinant hepatitis B vaccine made by GM baker's yeast, factor VIII (for

hemophiliacs), and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), which is made in GM

mammalian cells grown in laboratory culture. Additionally, GM plants that create

"edible vaccinations" are under development. An edible vaccine is an antigenic

protein that is created in a plant's consumable portions (such as fruit) and is ingested

to enter the body. The protein induces the immune system to make antibodies against

the pathogen from which the antigen was produced once it has been absorbed into the

body. In less developed nations where access to clean needles and refrigeration has

made some conventional vaccines problematic, such vaccines may provide a risk-free,

affordable, and painless option to administer vaccinations. Novel DNA vaccines may

be helpful in the fight against diseases including HIV/AIDS, TB, and cancer that have

shown resistant to conventional vaccination strategies. Genetic modification of

organisms has come to save lives to not kill as being speculated. Not one person has

suffered negative effects from innovations like GMOs, yet 25,000 people die

everyday from malnutrition. We need to focus on solutions instead of arguing “what

if” scenarios that have no scientific basis.

To conclude, I would like to make this clear that scientific experts have no intentions

of eradicating the human populace as being speculated. The focus is to increase food

production to meet the needs of the alarming population growth by introducing pest

and disease resistant crops, drought resistant and high yielding crops. GM technology

can also be applied in the area of medical research to manufacture edible vaccines

which can be eaten instead of being injected. If GM scientists are given the

opportunity to produces GM crops, food production would be increased to meet the

alarming population growth. There will also be low poverty and high standard of

living. There will also be a very high economic growth worldwide especially in the

developing countries. Let us all come together and make the world a better place to

be. For me, it is a yes to GMO.

References

1. https://inside.battelle.org/blog-details/five-good-reasons-to-support-gmos

2. Fernandez C, Jorge and Seth J. W.(2015). "USDA ERS - Adoption of Genetically

Engineered Crops in the U.S.: Recent Trends in GE Adoption." USDA ERS -

Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S.: Recent Trends in GE

Adoption. United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

3. Stefaan B. (2015). Why People Oppose GMOs Even Though Science Says They

Are Safe. Scientific America.

4. Oliver MJ. Why we need GMO crops in agriculture. Mo Med. 2014 Nov-

Dec;111(6):492-507. PMID: 25665234; PMCID: PMC6173531.

5. Melvin J. O. (2014). Why We Need GMO Crops in Agriculture.

6. Sunita J., Avinash K.A, Edgard G. and Baskar G. (2018). Bioremediation:

Applications for Environmental Protection and Management. Energy, Environment

and sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-107485-1.