Transgenics Project

Guiding Research Questions

1. There are a few reasons that transgenic organisms are produced, list two:

• i. Agricultural Reasons ~ (adding growth hormones in order for the animals to produce more food)
• ii. Medical Reasons ~ (making animals diease resistant, to make medications with animal fats, to get more organs for transplant)

2. Provide two historical examples (hundreds or thousands of years ago) of human altering the genomes of organisms:

• i. Animal domestication, caused by humans, dates back to around 12,000 BC.
• ii. The first evidence of plant domestication dates back to around 15,000 BC.

Reflection Questions

1. There is a lot of controversy over GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms)~specifically food~ for two main reasons, which are the arguments that are against the production:

• Environmental Risk

GMOs are a huge risk to the environment. Cross-pollination creates super weeds which are resistant to herbicides. They threaten other crops and plants. The tampering with the genetics of the plants impacts the food chain. They have the ability to reduce populations and cause birth defects among other animals. Over a decade ago, a laboratory study suggested that pollen from corn was genetically modified to produce an insecticide. This GMO has decreased monarch butterfly populations. Monarch butterflies are suffering on a different level: Crops are genetically engineered to resist weedkillers and and this is causing all milkweed to be exterminated. Milkweeed is the only plant used by Monarch butterflies to lay their eggs and Monarch caterpillars to eat. GMOs are not only affecting Monarch butterflies but also affecting the population of bees. As you may have realized by now, this can have a long term impact on the environment and the biodiversity.

• Health Risk

GMOs pose an array of concerns. One of these concerns is that a herbicide known as glyphosate, that is used to spray crops, can cause cancer. Another concern would be the effect of medications. Over 80% of GMO crops are genetically engineered to either resist herbicides or generate their own internal pesticides. A study done in 2012 explains that genetically engineered plants can produce Insecticidal Bt toxins which are extremely detrimental to human cells. This means that GMOs give a double chemical dose delevered right to your dinner table. GMOs could possibly have many side effects to the human body; most of whihc we don't know. This is because companies that produce GMOs are not allowing any sort of research or experiment to be conducted on the genetically modified foods.

2. To an extent, GMOs can be useful even though they have some cons as listed above. An example would be golden rice. Nearly half a million children are left blind due to vitamin A deficiency due to customary and economic reasons. But a solution to this issue is the genetically modified golden rice. Golden Rice is excellent source of vitamin A and is easily taken up into the bloodstream by the human digestive system. Biofortification is the most efficient way of improving the nutritional quality of crops through agronomic practices, conventional breeding or modern biotechnology.