Genetically Modified Food Technologies Essay Example

In the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in the application of biotechnology to solve some of the most pressing challenges relating to crop and animal husbandry. One aspect of this technology which has generated admiration and hatred over this period is the development of genetically modified foods (GMOs). The rise of GMO technologies has necessitated by the need to solve problems that face the current food industry by developing crop and animal traits that are desirable concerning their ability to generate higher productivity amidst environmental adversity (De Santis et al. 37). Due to its massive potential in revolutionizing the food industry, many countries have embraced the technology. In the United States, farming of genetically modified foods such as soybeans, fruits, corn, vegetables, tomatoes, and sugar beet has been extensively embraced for commercial purposes (US Department of Agriculture usda.gov). As such, adoption GMOs technologies could offer the solution to global food security; however risks of such technologies on human beings and the environment erode their potential.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Genetically modified foods are produced from plants and animals by altering the DNA through the process of genetic engineering. The process entails manipulation of the DNA of organisms-plants and animals-directly by transplanting the DNA from other organisms with the sole intention of boosting the characteristics of the receiving organisms. Combining DNA from different organisms is referred to as recombinant technology, and the organisms resulting from the application of this technology are what are known as GMOs (Bawa and Anilakumar 1036). The process is different from the conventional breeding method where there is selective breeding of organisms to obtain desirable qualities in the sense that unlike, breeding, a transfer of genetic material takes place rather than alteration of the structure of the DNA (Plumer). Plants and animals created through DNA recombination technology are also referred to as genetically engineered, biotech, bio-engineered or transgenic organisms. The terms referring products of biotechnology will be used interchangeably throughout the paper.

The concept of creating transgenic organisms has come a long way. The idea of gene variation has existed among the scientific community since the publication of Charles Darwin's book, the Origin of Species. Darwin held that DNA variation in the process of isolating organisms with the most desirable traits and mating them with the aim of combining and perpetuating these traits through their offspring. He believed that repeated use of this practice over several generations can result in a significant genetic variation to a species (Rangel harvard.edu). However, the advent of DNA modification goes back to 1944 when scientists established that genetic material can be transferred across different species. Several papers after this period paved the way for more research on the possibility of modifying genetic materials.

One crucial discovery about DNA modification is through the research of James Watson and Francis Crick. In 1953, Watson and Crick discovered the double helix structure of the DNA. Marshall Nirenberg and his fellow scientists cracked the genetic code in 1963. In advancement of earlier discoveries, Stanley Norman Cohen and his colleagues developed the DNA recombination technology in 1973. The discovery of Cohen and others demonstrated that genetically 'manufactured' DNA molecules can be transferred over different species to create desirable qualities that are more favorable to the environment (Zhang et al. 116-17).This technology was embraced a few years afterward to produce biotech crops.

Ten years after the discovery of the DNA recombination technology, a group of independent researchers created the first genetically engineered plants. The genetically engineered plants were antibiotic-resistant tobacco and petunias. After the discovery of the application of biotech in plants, China became the first country to begin commercial application of gene recombination to produce engineered crops (Bawa and Anilakumar 1035). In the United States, commercial application of gene recombination occurred in 1994 following the successful development of Flavr Savr tomato. The Flavr Savr tomato was developed by inserting a gene that prevents the buildup of the enzyme that caused the tomatoes to soften, allowing them to stay longer in the supermarket shelves. Two years later, scientists developed and introduced herbicide-resistant soybeans into the food system to enable farmers to use a widely accepted herbicide at the time to destroy a range of weeds without creating the possibility of development of resistant strains (Wunderlich and Gatto 842). The commercialization of the two biotech products in the United States marked the beginning an era of GMOs and widespread adoption of the same in many other crops to generate profits for farmers.

On the genetically modified animals, development and adoption of the technology have not been as widespread as in the case of plants. In countries such as China, commercial application of biotech animals has been in existence for a while. For instance, in 2011, Chinese scientists genetically engineered dairy cows using genes from human beings with the aim of developing cows that produce milk similar to the milk that flows from human breasts. These transgenic cows were expected to produce mill resembling that of cows produced through normal breeding (Gray). In the US, the first case of commercial application transgenic animals involved the production of Glo fish. In 2015, AquAdvantage salmon was approved as the first genetically modified animals for food consumption. However, the commercialization of AquAdvantage salmon in the United States has not been actualized three years after the concern organization involved received approval from the relevant agencies (Splitter forbes.com).

Adoption of genetically engineered plants and animals in agriculture could cause a significant impact on society. Since the commercialization of GMOs in 1996, farmers have gained significant benefits. In 2015, for instance, 180 million hectares of GMO crop production involving more than 17 million farmers occurred. At the same time, estimates done in 2015 suggest that cumulatively benefits of GMOs have surpassed US$150 billion cumulatively from 1996 to 2014(Smyth 78-79). As more farmers embrace GMOs, it can be expected that more benefits would accrue to society not only through the generation of more revenues for farmers but also in spreading wealth across all sectors of the economy. Additionally, arable land is decreasing by the day as the world continues to experience growth in the human population. If adequate food is not supplied to the ever-increasing demand, then malnutrition is likely to be widespread in the future. Therefore, increasing productivity, as evidenced in the use of GMOs, per acreage of the available land would mean the increased capacity to meet food demands hence a healthy and better society in the future.

Adding to adequate food production is the ability of the GMOs to promote environmental sustainability. Notably, from 1996 to 2012, production and use of transgenic crops over the naturally occurring crops saved up to 497 million kilograms of pesticides and reduced emissions of CO2 by 26.7 billion kilograms in 2012 alone(Gostek 764-65). Reducing the amount of pesticides that are applied in agricultural activities is beneficial to the environment as it reduces the amount of pesticides seeping into water bodies such as lakes and rivers. As a result, pollution of aquatic life is significantly minimized. On the other hand, the reduction of CO2 emissions is essential for the reduction of global temperatures. Today, there is an intense debate going on about climate change and its catastrophic effects seen so far. Thus, reducing CO2 gas means that the global temperatures would go down thereby lessening the impacts of climate change. In other words, the future of the Earth is safer if more genetically modified technologies are adopted due to their enhanced ability to protect the environment for future generation of flora and fauna.

Despite the great promise of GMOs, their adoption poses enormous risks to society. As previously indicated in the paper, GMOs improve yields by reducing resistance to the application of herbicides. One danger with the use of GMOs is the development of resistant strains of weeds. Overreliance on herbicide-resistant crops has led to a dramatic increase in weeds that are resistant to herbicides. Evidence indicates that glyphosate-resistant weeds are currently present in 100 million acres across 36 states (Landrigan and Benbrook 693-94). The emergence of resistant varieties of weeds means more problems for farmers. This shows that instead of solving the herbicide problem for farmers, GMOs encourage the selective and excessive use of certain herbicides with little regard to their effect in generating resistant weed varieties.

Contamination of the nutrients of food is also another area that could negatively impact the consumption of GMOs. Some evidence suggests there could be the unintentional introduction of allergens into foods which could reduce the nutritional value of foods as evidenced in reports of allergic reactions resulting from the consumption of biotech corn (Arcieri 554). This could result in long-term effects on both animals and human beings. It then means that a heavier burden is placed on society in addressing the problem of health. Thus, the use of GMOs would worsen the condition of humanity.

Overreliance of herbicides in agriculture has the potential to create long-term polluting effects on water bodies. The two major benefits accruing from GMOs is their resistance to pests and potential to survive in strained conditions. This has easily created the notion that the use of herbicides is the way to go in controlling weeds. As a result, there has a massive application of herbicides which often seeps into water bodies. As extreme events such as floods continue to occur more frequently, water bodies are expected to become more alkaline, an eventuality that could potentially damage aquatic life.

Perhaps one of the most concerning prospect of pests developing resistance to toxins produced by genetically engineered crops. Over-expression of genes could induce pest resistance through the process of natural selection. This has been noted in the reduced efficacy of the pesticides. Since insects have a short lifespan, the resistant pests could be quickly passed over several generations for a very short time (Raman 202). Such an outcome would make it even more difficult to control pests. Consequently, the use of GMOs would turn out to be harmful to the farmers as more resources would be required to control stubborn pests. Eventually, the purpose for the introduction of the GMOs would be rendered irrelevant besides being costly to the farmers.

Conclusion

On the whole, development of genetically engineered organisms was motivated by the need to develop crops and animals that are resistant to disease and also have the ability to produce and survive under difficult resources strains or weather conditions. For instance, corn and soy grown in the US have been modified to acquire resistance against herbicides and pests. Although most of the biotech technology deals with plants, recent accreditation for the production of bioengineered animals suggest that the technology would occupy a critical position in animal and crop husbandry in the coming days. However, risks such as pest and herbicide resistance and potential inference with nutritional factors must be addressed to ensure that they above board regarding safety.

Works Cited

Arcieri, Margherita. "Spread and Poten...