Download Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically Modified
Foods
Student Created
What are Genetically Modified
Foods?
Genetically modified foods are plants that
have been modified in a laboratory to
enhance desired traits.
 Examples of desired traits are increased
resistance to herbicides and improved
nutritional content.

How do They do it?
Biologists are able to
isolate certain genes
and insert them into
organisms. This allows
an organism to possess
the gene and pass it
down to its offspring.

Advantages to Genetically Modified
Foods
Resistance to pests will help farmers keep their
crops healthy and edible. Also eliminates need
for pesticides, which may taint the crops and
scare away customers.
 Being able to add nutrients to crops will
decrease malnutrition and can help lead to
ending world hunger.
 Disease resistant plants will reduce the risk of
obtaining e-coli or salmonella from crops.

First Genetically Modified Crop
The first ever crop to be
modified was the tomato,
which was modified to ripen
without softening.
 Consumers accepted this
and even paid more to
purchase these tomatoes.

Harmful or Helpful?

There has been much debate as to
whether genetically modified foods are
good or bad.
Criticism



Some studies show that genetically modified foods can
have a harmful effect on other organisms. For example,
the mortality rate of monarch caterpillars has increased
due to pollen from B.t. corn, a genetically modified plant.
Critics are also afraid insects will become resistant to
genetically modified foods, just like they can become
resistant to pesticides.
Lastly, critics are afraid of allergies affecting consumers,
and other unknown diseases.
Other concerns

Scientists also claim that there is plenty of food
on the earth, it is just not evenly distributed.
Therefore, production has nothing to do with
world hunger, and we should not be putting
people’s health at risk for nothing.
Two Types

There are two main types of GM foods
– Ones that tolerate herbicides
 These crops will not die off from herbicides and
will have less competition over nutrients and
sunlight.
– Ones that are toxic to certain pests.
 Pests will not bother the plant and allow it to grow
freely.
Common GM foods
 Corn
 Tomatoes
 Potatoes
 Sugar
cane
Sources

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmf
ood/overview.php

http://www.geneticallymodifiedfoods.co.uk
/what-are-common-gm-foods.html