Download Tabares Daniel Tabares English 1010

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Daniel Tabares
English 1010-016
11/26/2014
Dr. Greenwell
Position Synthesis
Do know what’s in the foods you eat every day? Do you know they use to make
the food you buy for your family on an everyday basis? Millions and Millions of crops and foods
have been genetically modified at some point or have at least one genetically modified ingredient
in them. This to me came to a surprise since none of the foods that are being sold to us have any
type of labeling or a way to let us know that the foods have been genetically engineered. Al
though this may be a surprise to millions of Americans now, this is not a new topic genetic
engineering dates back to the 1950s. In 1953, scientists discovered the structure of DNA, and in
1972, researchers developed a method for cutting and splicing DNA. That method became
known as recombinant DNA, or rDNA, because it enabled scientists to cut and recombine
segments of DNA. Since then, researchers have learned how to move genetic material in the
form of DNA from one plant or animal to another. They can also take DNA from an animal and
place it in a plant, and vice versa. This discovery led to scientist and many companies to start
creating genetically engineered foods and crops. They use this technology to create crops that
can withstand cold seasons also survive draughts, be pest-resistant and even make the crops
bigger. I believe GE foods can greatly benefit our country, our farmers and the world by creating
crops that can withstand droughts and pest, making it easier for companies and farmers to grow
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their product, helping decrease hunger around the world and in the United States, finding new
medication and help us and our children create better eating habits causing the cost of healthcare
decrease.
Scientist have also combine genes of different foods to create a whole new fruit like an
“apple pear” also known as sand apples. Many people really like this fruit describing as
“HOTTEST NEW ITEM SINCE THE KIWI”, and it’s no wonder! The crispy, crunchy, juicy,
sweet fruit is a fruit that has the shape of an apple and the texture of a pear and is the perfect
example of what great accomplishments can be made with this new genetic engineering
technology. Some other examples of these genetically modified foods are sugar, Cheese, and
vegetable oil. Flavor savr tomato was the first genetically modified crop to reach other tables
back in 1994 the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approve the consumption and growth of
this fruit which then open the door for all kinds of crops to be genetically modified and improved
crops which has now taken over 70% of our markets and what we eat every day.
As adults we all know that kids hate eating their fruits and vegetables, but what if there
was a way for parents and guardians to be able to have their kids eats right and healthy by giving
them their everyday fruits and vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, spinach among other not
so likeable foods that are actually really great for our health? That can be a possibility with
genetic engineered foods. This new technology can make our everyday foods taste better and
make us all eat better and healthier by extracting the taste genes in other fruits such as apples
bananas and mangos and other great tasting fruits that so many people love and introducing them
to vegetables making it much easier for us to be able to have our kids and ourselves get the
nutrition we need from great tasting vegetables creating healthier eating habits. This can greatly
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impact obesity and illnesses related to obesity like diabetes and heart problems bringing down
the cost of health care and making our citizens a lot healthier.
Not only can this technology increase our everyday health by making it easier for us to
eat our vegetables but it can also help bring down the cost of food by making bigger crops also
having to use less chemicals and water also brings down the costs all this can help the food
shortage around world decrease having a lot less people having to go to sleep hungry because
either their family is too poor to afford it or just the simple fact the food is just not available to
them. All around the world like in Venezuela and many countries in Africa it’s hard for the
people to get the nutrition they need because their government is unable to make food affordable
and accessible to their citizens. People in the United States may not see hunger as such a big deal
because the hunger level is so much lower compare to the rest of the world however this does
not mean there is no families in the United States going to sleep hungry. According to world
hunger statistics, 11% of the United States’ population are at risk every day to go to sleep hungry
or are going to sleep hungry every night. The total number of people in the world who suffer
from hunger and malnutrition is around 800 million. This technology can drastically decrease
these numbers and make it easier for millions of people to be able to get food for their family and
loved ones.
Another great benefit genetic modified foods can create is a way for us to find or create
new medications for all these diseases and virus out breaks that have recently occurred around
the world scientists are looking desperately for a way to find new ways to make medicine but
also discover new medicine that can help fight off and cure these diseases. One solution to this
problem may be in genetic engineered foods by crossing two powerful disease fighting genes in
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food. Making stronger vaccines and medicine or perhaps a brand new medicine all together we
have been using medicines from plants and animals since humans have existed in this earth like
aspirin which came from the bark and leaves of the willow tree to help heal headaches, pains and
fevers. Discoveries like this can greatly benefit all of human kind in ways we can’t imagine
Farmers and companies being able to grow crops easier, more efficiently, and cheaper
can make food cheaper and also help the environment by saving water and using less chemicals
to get rid of pest and weeds. Having them only use regular weed killers that does not need to be
as strong and deadly. Making the soils and crops have less pesticides and herbicides which can
really help people’s health by not having to ingest all those chemicals. Also using millions of
gallons of water a year in agriculture can cause draughts and make it harder for people to get and
use water in their homes and businesses but genetic modified foods can help cut down the use of
water by half by having crops that require half of the water that regular crops need to be grown.
Companies and farmers can also use this technology to adapt quickly to different types of
weather or environmental requirements for that specific harvesting period reducing the amount
of wasted crops.
Although there are great benefits to genetically modified foods for the world there are
also some risks in this as well. When people see anything that involves genetic engineering they
see it as if humans were playing “God” or messing with Mother Nature. We’ve seen many
movies and discussions on TV about genetic engineering such as Jurassic Park and Avatar
among others. There’s also science fiction movies involving genetic engineered people. This
may seem like science fiction but it’s actually possible. This when scientist go and create a
person with every trait that the parents would like such as hair color height and eye color etc.
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The same principles can be done to animals and food. People say this process is
“unnatural” and “Nothing good can come of this.” One of the risks involving genetic modified
foods is cross contamination meaning when insects that pollinate genetically modified foods
such as bees and butterflies can carry these genetic modified seeds into other fields pollinating
other crops and plants causing the natural organic crops to then have the genes and traits of the
genetically modified crops. Also many genetically engineered crops have Bacillus thuringienis
(Bt)-toxin genes on them. With this GE material, helpful organisms such as ladybirds, bees, and
butterflies are killed. Also if any Bt plant remains fall back to Earth, earthworms and other
organisms who live in the soil are threatened. Furthermore, the build up of Bt toxin resistance
threatens to stop the effectiveness of insecticides and this deprives the natural ecosystem of one
of its pest controls, thus making the restoration of equilibrium difficult after the ecosystem has
been disturbed by an abnormality. Another problem with genetic modified food is the risk of not
knowing what these foods can do to humans in the long term. Research has only been made for a
couple of years. Not knowing these long term effects on humans and also the environment can be
very dangerous for not only our generation but many more to come.
Looking at the risk and benefits of this highly controversial topic we see that although
there might be some risks involve there are also great achievements that can be made using this
technology which has actually been around for decades now and has been used to bring us the
food we have in our tables every day for the last twenty years. The risks are not as great as the
benefits that humans can get from this if use this technology to create all of our crops and foods.
However there are some ways to make this better we can label our food products to show which
foods have nee grown organically and which has been genetically modified. We can also do
some research for the foods we have been eating in the last 20 years to see what and how things
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have change to human health and the environment and if it is related to the making of these
crops.
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Work Cited Page
World Hunger Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. N.p., 7 May 2013. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
May, Jeff. "The Cons of Genetic Engineering of." The Cons of Genetic Engineering of.
N.p., 8 May 2004. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
Feature, WebMD. "Genetically Modified Foods (Biotech Foods) Pros and Cons."
WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
Bocco, Diana. "What Are the Pros and Cons of Genetically Engineered Food?"
WiseGEEK. N.p., 21 Nov. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
Bellis, Mary. "History of Aspirin." About.com Inventors. About.com, 05 Mar. 2014.
Web. 29 Nov. 2014.
Rotman, David. "GMOs Could Be an Important Tool in Feeding the World | MIT
Technology Review." MIT Technology Review. N.p., 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.