This is an extract from dissertation on Genetic Engineering:
Genetic engineering is a scientific process that has recently come a long way. Within the past four years of the twentieth century we have witnessed the most rapid adoption of a new technology in history. Millions of acres of farmland have been planted with genetically engineered crops since 1996. The crops consist mainly of corn, soybeans, and cotton. Genetic engineering techniques allow scientists to insert specific genes into plants and/or animals. Also, species are very easily crossed using genetic engineering. There are many good things that come with genetic engineering; however, there are many bad things as well. Because of this, genetic engineering has caused a great deal of concern and debate.
Genetic engineering is a very interesting process used to alter plants and animals. It is a new technology that combines genes from totally dissimilar species in combinations that are not achievable using conventional breeding methods. Genes from an animal, say, a fish, can be put into a plant, a strawberry for instance, in attempt to improve the strawberry plants. The fish gene is supposed to make the strawberries more resistant to frost by causing the strawberry plant to compose a form of antifreeze which the fish normally produces to endure cold conditions in water.
Although genetic engineering has been going on for over 30 years, it has just lately begun to cause so much commotion. The reason for this is that it wasn’t until recently that scientists began to master to art of genetic engineering and commonly using them in our animals and crops. Until the mid 1990s, the organisms produced by genetic engineering were nearly all confined to laboratories or controlled factory setting. During this time, the main use of genetic engineering was to produce medically useful substances such as insulin. Over the past four years, there has been an unrestrained expansion of genetic engineering into agriculture. By 1999 almost 80 million acres of North American farmland were planted with seed that had been genetically engineered.
If you don’t know all of the facts about genetically engineered food, it seems like an excellent idea. With genetic engineering, you can change plants and animals in many ways that are beneficial to our health and way of life. A genetically engineered vegetable can withhold ice cold conditions and contain more vitamins than a natural vegetable. Genetic engineering is also a way to improve food production and could possibly even result in the solution to world hunger. Another reason why genetic engineering recently became so popular is because its developers claim that it will reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides. However, there are many bad things that come along with these good aspects of genetic engineering.
Over 70% of the foods on store shelves contain genetically engineered components. Although such a large amount of foods in the United States are manufactured with genetically engineered ingredients, there is no requirement that these items are labeled. A great deal of corn and potatoes have been genetically engineered to contain a gene from Bt bacteria which causes every cell of the plants to produce a insecticide toxin. However, there is no way of knowing if the vegetable that you are buying contains this, or any similar genetically engineered ingredients. Along with labeling, effective testing of genetically engineered foods are excused by the FDA as well.
Another poor aspect of genetic engineering is regarding allergic reactions. The genetic engineering of crops and food-producing animals can produce toxic and allergic reactions in humans. Someone allergic to peanuts or shellfish, for instance, would have no way of knowing if a tomato or other food had been altered with proteins from these substances. Genetic engineering could also transfer new and unidentified proteins from various bacteria that have never been known in food supply before, meaning that their toxic or allergic characteristics are unknown. Because of this, the consumption of genetically engineered foods could be discomforting or in some cases even fatal to certain people.
Genetic engineering poses a dangerous threat of pollution to the environment. Genetically engineered organisms that escape or are released from the laboratory could have a prospectively disastrous affect on the earth. Genetically engineered biological pollutants have the potential to be even more destructive than chemical pollutants. Genetically engineered products are alive, and because of this they are more unpredictable than chemical products- they can reproduce, transform, and migrate. Also, unlike chemical or nuclear contamination, gene pollution can never be cleaned up. This could lead to devastating permanent damage to the environment.
Genetic engineering is a radical new technology that has the potential to change our society. Genetic engineering allows people to insert specific genes into a plants and animals to alter the species. Currently over 70% of food that Americans eat is genetically altered in some way. The main crops that are altered are canola, cotton, potatoes and soy. However, there are many other items that are being genetically engineered as well, including animals and trees. Although genetic engineering has a lot of good points, there are many bad points as well. Nevertheless, genetic engineering is still a rather new technology and there is a lot of time and room for improvement.
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