Introduction
Genetic modification or genetic engineering is the process of altering the DNA in an organism’s genome. This can include modifying one base pair or even replacing a region of DNA with an additional copy of a gene. This effect is used a lot by scientists to enhance or modify the traits of an organism. For example, it is performed on crops and animals in the agricultural industry to produce more food at a faster rate. It has also been used to increase the yield of grained crops by making the stems smaller, so more energy and nutrients can be stored in the head of the plant.
Benefits and Risks of GMO
Genetic modification is beneficial for many reasons. Firstly, they are all round better quality, they are prooven to have a longer shelf life. This is fantastic for the envrironment as it can limit food waste. They are easier for farmers to grow and as our poulation is forever growing and farmers need to supply enough food to support everyone. GMO crops grow faster, smarter and a lot easier than non GMO crops.
As for the risks of GMO there have been reasearch papers that connect GMOs to cancer formation. GMOs may also contribute to antibiotic resistance as they are often incoperated with antibiotic reststance. However, these ideas have not been proven and there is much speculation surrounding them.
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The Future of GMO
In Canada they just released genetically modified salmon to the market. Scientists have been working on this project for years and have figured out a way to grow salmon to reach market size in 18 months which is roughly half the time of normal salmon. This is a huge leap for the GMO foods market and scientists are now working on other genetically modified farm animals such as, disease resistant pigs, bird flu resistant chickens, hornless dairy cows, and sheep with a higher productive rate.
Overall these changes be good or bad. The changes to crops and farm animals really can help people in developing countries, and people all over the world as our population is growing at a rapid rate. it can also be good for the environment as it can reduce food waste and the amount of land destruction to produce food. However, many people don’t agree with this as it can be seen as unfair and inhuman to animals to be testing risky experiments on them. People are also scared that these modifications can be risky to our physical heath and function.
Funding for GMO’s
It costs a lot of money to do the research for genetically modify an organism successfully. The two main sources of funding GMO researchers receive come from those who benefit from the research. Therefore, that’s either government, as their job is to look after people and big businesses as they are going to make money from it.
Conclusion
In conclusion GMO is a process that alters an organism’s genome. It is used by scientists to create crops and farm animals that are disease resistant, have a higher production rate and grow quicker. Its beneficial to developing countries as it can help them grow food for their families a lot easier. Many people also believe that GMO can lead to unwanted health problems like becoming resistant to antibiotics and the formation of cancer cells, however these claims have not been proven. In the future scientists hope to develop GMO in farm animals so we can help problems arising in the world to do with agriculture
