Is genetically engineered foods good or bad for human beings?
Biotechnology is changing society rapidly, and the way that our food and crops that are grown everyday.
Genetically modified foods are entering our supermarkets and we are starting to consume food that has been modified
by scientists. Is it good? Or is it bad? Genetic engineering has brought an uproar in England, while other countries such
as United States, and Southeast countries are promoting this newly developed food. Genetically modified foods are
plants or crops that scientist alter the gene [gene splicing] or its chararcteristic, such as making a tomatoe more
red, making watermelons more sweet, and rice to grow faster. Genetically modified food being in the supermarket
has brought rivarly amongst many peoples. While it can help with providing foods and saving countries from starvation,
and being able to keep up the food production with the rapid human population growth, this could be harmful in a
way, because we are not sure what the side effects may be, or what will happen to these crops in the future, and
how peoples bodies will react to it in the future.
Bioengineerd foods, a.k.a Genetically Modified foods, is it good for us? or is it bad?
Experts and Organizations
People:
Richard Hamilton-SIRS Government Reporter (State Department DOS)
Patrick Moore-SIRS Researcher (American Enterprise)
Organizations:
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA)-a non profit organization
that believes in agricultural biotechnology for developing countries.
USDA-Unites States Department of Agriculture-research health effects of biotechnology (branch of the government)
FDA-US Food and Drug Administraion-checks to see if US food crops have been contaminated with bioengineered
crops and the safety of it
Search Terms:
Agricultural Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Gene Spilicing
GM Foods
Agricultural Biotech
Bio tech
Adding Hormones
Biotechnology Production
Genetically Modified
Genetic Engineering How has biotechnology effected food production?
- How it affects gene splicing?
- What it does to adding hormones?
- Is it healthy or unhealthy?
Key words: biotechnology, food production, hormones
3 Things Interesting:
-75% of processed food contains at least one GM ingrident.
-One-billionth acre of biotech crops is maturing somewhere in the world.
-Ten years ago U.S farmers first began plants GM crops. 2 Things Discovered:
-The most rapidly adopted technology in agriuclutre.
-"At their commercial introduction, proponents of biotech said the crops would boost
productivity and help feed a growing world population."
1 Question:
-Is it always helpful, or is it also harmful?
Article Citation 1
Title: Asia Seen As Next Focus of Agricultural Biotech Production
Source: Washington File
Author: Kathryn McConnell
Publication Date: Feb. 16, 2007
Page Number: n.p.
Database: SIRS Government Reporter
Service: SIRS Knowledge Source <http://www.sirs.com> http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SINFOTECHH-0-753&artno=0000257546&type= ART&shfilter=U&key=&res=y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N 3 Things Interesting:
-After cotton the next main crop to be commercialized in Asia likely will be "golden rice"--
rice enhanced with vitamin A, which is important for vision and the respiratory, urinary and
intestinal tracts
-In 2006, India tripled from the previous year the area it planted in biotech cotton, its first
commercialized biotech crop.
-India now has a total of 3.8 million biotech hectares while China has 3.5 million such hectares.
2 Things Discovered:
-Biotech crops, also known as genetically modified crops, increasingly are
being grown in and approved for import by Asian countries
- India is emerging as a key biotech leader in Asia, surpassing China for the first
time in the number of hectares planted with biotech seed.
1 Question:
Which countries do not want to make GM foods legalized? Article Citation 2
Title: Researchers Developing New Science-Based Crops, Experts Say
Source: Washington File
Author: Kathryn McConnell
Publication Date: Feb. 12, 2007
Page Number: n.p.
Database: SIRS Government Reporter
Service: SIRS Knowledge Source <http://www.sirs.com> http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SINFOTECHH-0-753&artno=
0000257547&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N
3 Things Interesting:
-Genetically modified tomatoes.
-Bananas and tomatoes are being engineered to deliver, among other things, antibodies for
-E coli bacteria-induced diarrhea, a major killer of children around the world. Making more
crops able to grow in current nonarable conditions could contribute to food
security and help promote sustainable agriculture, the scientists said.
2 Things Discovered:
-So far, the United States has approved more than 70 genetically modified crops.
-The latest biotech crop commercialized in the United States was alfalfa, a feed crop,
which entered the market in 2006. 1 Question:
-Can these products be harmful to human beings? Article Citation 3
Title: Plant Biotechnology: Advances in Food, Energy, and Health
Source: Economic Perspectives
Author: Richard Hamilton and others
Publication Date: Oct. 2005
Page Number: 17-21
Database: SIRS Government Reporter
Service: SIRS Knowledge Source <http://www.sirs.com> http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SINFOTECHH-0-753&artno=0000240257
&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N
3 Things Interesting:
-Most of the crops that we grow today did not spring forth from a mythical Garden of Eden and do not grow naturally.
-The first genetically engineered crops developed in the early 1980s were resistant to herbicides and insects.
- The United States is the leading grower of biotech crops, with more than 48 million hectares, followed by
Argentina (16 million hectares), Canada (6 million hectares), Brazil (4.8 million hectares), and China (4 million hectares).
2 Things Discovered:
-The world will need to produce more food, feed, and fiber during the next 50 years than in the entire history of humankind.
-Crop yields need to be increased beyond the spectacular gains of the 20th century in order to meet increasing demand
and save open space.
1 Question:
-In the future are we going to stop growing plants the the old way like farmers or are all plants n food going to be
genetically modified and grown like that? Article Citation 4 Title:The Green Case for Biotech: Resisting the Anti-Science, Anti-Human... Source: American Enterprise Author: Patrick Moore Publication Date: March 2004 Page Number: 24-27 Database: SIRS Researcher Service: SIRS Knowledge Source <http://www.sirs.com> http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SINFOTECHH-0-753&artno=
0000183057&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N 3 Things Interesting:
-The risk of not allowing farmers in Africa and Asia to grow Golden Rice is that another 2.5 million children will probably go blind.
-There is not a single example or shred of evidence in the Greenpeace report of actual bollworm resistance to Bt cotton in the field.
-The Greenpeace report is a classic example of the use of agenda-based "science" to support misinformation and distortion of the truth. 2 Things Discovered:
-The environmentalists' campaign against biotechnology in general, and genetic engineering in particular, has clearly exposed their intellectual and moral bankruptcy.
-In 2001, the European Commission released the results of 81 scientific studies on genetically modified organisms conducted by over 400 research teams at a cost of U.S. $65 million
3 Things Interesting:
-Over the past ten years, farmers have adopted genetically engineered (GE) varieties of corn, soybeans,
and cotton widely and at rapid rate and benefited from such adoption.
-Crop variety R&D over the past 30 years has moved from being predominantly public to predominantly private.
-Genetically engineered varieties of soybeans, corn, and cotton have been available commercially since 1996.
2 Things Discovered:
-Beginning in the late 1990s, the larger agricultural biotechnology companies began acquiring the smaller ones.
-Biotechnology is often associated with promise to feed the world, promise to reduce environmental harm,
promise to expand agricultural markets and production possibilities, promise to create products that consumers want.
1 Question:
-What are the good things of biotechnology?
3 Things Interesting:
-In the 1992 policy, FDA recommended that developers consult with FDA about bioengineered foods
under development; since issuance of the 1992 policy, developers have routinely done so.
- The Federal Register of January 18, 2001 the FDA issued a proposed rule that would require that developers submit a scientific and regulatory assessment of the bioengineered food 120 days before the bioengineered food is marketed.
-In June 1996, FDA provided additional guidance to industry on procedures for consultations the consultation procedures.
2 Things Discovered:
-Most bioengineered plants are considered "regulated articles" under regulations of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
-The safe use of pesticidal substances is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
3 Things Interesting:
-Genetic engineering was first introduced around the early 1970's.
-Bt makes crystals that are deadly to Lepidoptera, moths that are major plant pests.
-The biggest Bt crops are corn and cotton.
2 Things Discovered:
-"Portugal, France and the Czech Republic all started growing biotech crops, raising the count of nations that permit biotech plantings to 21, and surging growth of genetically modified cotton in Brazil and China has fed the increase."
-Experts claimed that GM products would boost production.
Pathfinder Intro:
Is genetically engineered foods good or bad for human beings?Biotechnology is changing society rapidly, and the way that our food and crops that are grown everyday.
Genetically modified foods are entering our supermarkets and we are starting to consume food that has been modified
by scientists. Is it good? Or is it bad? Genetic engineering has brought an uproar in England, while other countries such
as United States, and Southeast countries are promoting this newly developed food. Genetically modified foods are
plants or crops that scientist alter the gene [gene splicing] or its chararcteristic, such as making a tomatoe more
red, making watermelons more sweet, and rice to grow faster. Genetically modified food being in the supermarket
has brought rivarly amongst many peoples. While it can help with providing foods and saving countries from starvation,
and being able to keep up the food production with the rapid human population growth, this could be harmful in a
way, because we are not sure what the side effects may be, or what will happen to these crops in the future, and
how peoples bodies will react to it in the future.
Bioengineerd foods, a.k.a Genetically Modified foods, is it good for us? or is it bad?
Experts and Organizations
People:
Richard Hamilton-SIRS Government Reporter (State Department DOS)Patrick Moore-SIRS Researcher (American Enterprise)
Organizations:
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA)-a non profit organizationthat believes in agricultural biotechnology for developing countries.
USDA-Unites States Department of Agriculture-research health effects of biotechnology (branch of the government)
FDA-US Food and Drug Administraion-checks to see if US food crops have been contaminated with bioengineered
crops and the safety of it
Search Terms:
Agricultural BiotechnologyBiotechnology
Gene Spilicing
GM Foods
Agricultural Biotech
Bio tech
Adding Hormones
Biotechnology Production
Genetically Modified
Genetic Engineering
How has biotechnology effected food production?
- How it affects gene splicing?
- What it does to adding hormones?
- Is it healthy or unhealthy?
Key words: biotechnology, food production, hormones
Article Citation from Group Member:
Title: Biotech Crops Celebrate 10th Birthday
Source: Kidsnewsroom
Publication Date: July 8-15, 2005
Database: SIRS Discoverer
3 Things Interesting:
-75% of processed food contains at least one GM ingrident.
-One-billionth acre of biotech crops is maturing somewhere in the world.
-Ten years ago U.S farmers first began plants GM crops.
2 Things Discovered:
-The most rapidly adopted technology in agriuclutre.
-"At their commercial introduction, proponents of biotech said the crops would boost
productivity and help feed a growing world population."
1 Question:
-Is it always helpful, or is it also harmful?
Article Citation 1
Title: Asia Seen As Next Focus of Agricultural Biotech Production
Source: Washington File
Author: Kathryn McConnell
Publication Date: Feb. 16, 2007
Page Number: n.p.
Database: SIRS Government Reporter
Service: SIRS Knowledge Source <http://www.sirs.com>
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SINFOTECHH-0-753&artno=0000257546&type=
ART&shfilter=U&key=&res=y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N
3 Things Interesting:
-After cotton the next main crop to be commercialized in Asia likely will be "golden rice"--
rice enhanced with vitamin A, which is important for vision and the respiratory, urinary and
intestinal tracts
-In 2006, India tripled from the previous year the area it planted in biotech cotton, its first
commercialized biotech crop.
-India now has a total of 3.8 million biotech hectares while China has 3.5 million such hectares.
2 Things Discovered:
-Biotech crops, also known as genetically modified crops, increasingly are
being grown in and approved for import by Asian countries
- India is emerging as a key biotech leader in Asia, surpassing China for the first
time in the number of hectares planted with biotech seed.
1 Question:
Which countries do not want to make GM foods legalized?
Article Citation 2
Title: Researchers Developing New Science-Based Crops, Experts Say
Source: Washington File
Author: Kathryn McConnell
Publication Date: Feb. 12, 2007
Page Number: n.p.
Database: SIRS Government Reporter
Service: SIRS Knowledge Source <http://www.sirs.com>
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SINFOTECHH-0-753&artno=
0000257547&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N
3 Things Interesting:
-Genetically modified tomatoes.
-Bananas and tomatoes are being engineered to deliver, among other things, antibodies for
-E coli bacteria-induced diarrhea, a major killer of children around the world. Making more
crops able to grow in current nonarable conditions could contribute to food
security and help promote sustainable agriculture, the scientists said.
2 Things Discovered:
-So far, the United States has approved more than 70 genetically modified crops.
-The latest biotech crop commercialized in the United States was alfalfa, a feed crop,
which entered the market in 2006.
1 Question:
-Can these products be harmful to human beings?
Article Citation 3
Title: Plant Biotechnology: Advances in Food, Energy, and Health
Source: Economic Perspectives
Author: Richard Hamilton and others
Publication Date: Oct. 2005
Page Number: 17-21
Database: SIRS Government Reporter
Service: SIRS Knowledge Source <http://www.sirs.com>
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SINFOTECHH-0-753&artno=0000240257
&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N
3 Things Interesting:
-Most of the crops that we grow today did not spring forth from a mythical Garden of Eden and do not grow naturally.
-The first genetically engineered crops developed in the early 1980s were resistant to herbicides and insects.
- The United States is the leading grower of biotech crops, with more than 48 million hectares, followed by
Argentina (16 million hectares), Canada (6 million hectares), Brazil (4.8 million hectares), and China (4 million hectares).
2 Things Discovered:
-The world will need to produce more food, feed, and fiber during the next 50 years than in the entire history of humankind.
-Crop yields need to be increased beyond the spectacular gains of the 20th century in order to meet increasing demand
and save open space.
1 Question:
-In the future are we going to stop growing plants the the old way like farmers or are all plants n food going to be
genetically modified and grown like that?
Article Citation 4
Title: The Green Case for Biotech: Resisting the Anti-Science, Anti-Human...
Source: American Enterprise
Author: Patrick Moore
Publication Date: March 2004
Page Number: 24-27
Database: SIRS Researcher
Service: SIRS Knowledge Source <http://www.sirs.com>
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=SINFOTECHH-0-753&artno=
0000183057&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=&res=Y&ren=Y&gov=Y&lnk=Y&ic=N
3 Things Interesting:
-The risk of not allowing farmers in Africa and Asia to grow Golden Rice is that another 2.5 million children will probably go blind.
-There is not a single example or shred of evidence in the Greenpeace report of actual bollworm resistance to Bt cotton in the field.
-The Greenpeace report is a classic example of the use of agenda-based "science" to support misinformation and distortion of the truth.
2 Things Discovered:
-The environmentalists' campaign against biotechnology in general, and genetic engineering in particular, has clearly exposed their intellectual and moral bankruptcy.
-In 2001, the European Commission released the results of 81 scientific studies on genetically modified organisms conducted by over 400 research teams at a cost of U.S. $65 million
1 Question:
-What is the proof of the food?
Website Citation 1
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/biotechnology/3 Things Interesting:
-Over the past ten years, farmers have adopted genetically engineered (GE) varieties of corn, soybeans,
and cotton widely and at rapid rate and benefited from such adoption.
-Crop variety R&D over the past 30 years has moved from being predominantly public to predominantly private.
-Genetically engineered varieties of soybeans, corn, and cotton have been available commercially since 1996.
2 Things Discovered:
-Beginning in the late 1990s, the larger agricultural biotechnology companies began acquiring the smaller ones.
-Biotechnology is often associated with promise to feed the world, promise to reduce environmental harm,
promise to expand agricultural markets and production possibilities, promise to create products that consumers want.
1 Question:
-What are the good things of biotechnology?
Website Citation 2
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/biocon.html3 Things Interesting:
-In the 1992 policy, FDA recommended that developers consult with FDA about bioengineered foods
under development; since issuance of the 1992 policy, developers have routinely done so.
- The Federal Register of January 18, 2001 the FDA issued a proposed rule that would require that developers submit a scientific and regulatory assessment of the bioengineered food 120 days before the bioengineered food is marketed.
-In June 1996, FDA provided additional guidance to industry on procedures for consultations the consultation procedures.
2 Things Discovered:
-Most bioengineered plants are considered "regulated articles" under regulations of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
-The safe use of pesticidal substances is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
1 Question:
-How can pesticide effect our crops?
Website Citation 3
http://whyfiles.org/240GM_1/3 Things Interesting:
-Genetic engineering was first introduced around the early 1970's.
-Bt makes crystals that are deadly to Lepidoptera, moths that are major plant pests.
-The biggest Bt crops are corn and cotton.
2 Things Discovered:
-"Portugal, France and the Czech Republic all started growing biotech crops, raising the count of nations that permit biotech plantings to 21, and surging growth of genetically modified cotton in Brazil and China has fed the increase."
-Experts claimed that GM products would boost production.
1 Question:
-No Question.
Links:
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