Genetically Modified Foods

► Any food genetically altered

 Good reasons
 World population past 6 billion
►Will
double in 50 years
►How do we feed everybody?

► Advantages:
 Pest resistance
►Reduce loss to pests
►Reduce pesticide use
► Advantages continued:
 Herbicide tolerance
►Better to spray than weed
 Disease tolerance
 Drought tolerance
 Nutrition
►Give rice added nutrients other than starch
►Ex- blindness due to Vitamin A deficiency
 Pharmaceuticals
►Vaccines
►Medicines
 Pollution control
 Cold tolerance
►Cold water fish protein
► How common is GM food?
 1996:
► Soybeans: 7%
► Cotton: 15%
► Corn: 1.5%

 2000:
► Soybeans: 54%
► Cotton: 61%
► Corn: 26%
 Currently, up to 45 percent of U.S. corn is genetically
engineered as is 85 percent of soybeans. It has been
estimated that 70-75 percent of processed foods on
supermarket shelves--from soda to soup, crackers to
condiments--contain genetically engineered ingredients
Criticisms against GM foods:
• Allergenicity
– Allergic reactions
• Unknown effects on human health
– Unknown to humans
• Gene transfer
– What if a weed got the gene for herbicide
resistance? “Superweed”
• Unintended harm
– B-t gene is killing monarch butterflies
► Other concerns:
 Economic:
►Cost of production
►Patent enforcement

 Regulation
►Controlling who does what
 Labeling
►Contentious: why?
 We want it
 Companies fear alienation
 Food for thought:
Write the answers to the following in sentence form, giving
adequate reasoning for each:

► Are you for or against the use of GM foods?

► What do you believe to be the outstanding reasons to do
(or not do) extensive research in GM foods?
► Write a short summary: You are in charge of the
Governmental control of GM food management. What
do you make the researchers do and to what extent do
you take controls of GM management (control a lot or a
little?).
 What do you expect to be the results of some of the research
that comes out while you are in charge?