GMOGenetically Modified Organism

• http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/02/business/energy-environment/a-gray-area-in-regulation-of-genetically-modified-crops.html?_r=0

• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/11028617/GM-fruit-flies-could-be-released-into-the-wild.html

• http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/18/5523262/insect-evolves-to-eat-poisonous-corn

GMOGenetically Modified OrganismGenetic material altered in a way that doesn't occur in nature• Biological and medical research• Pharmaceutical drugs• Experimental medicine• Agriculture

o Increased needs of foodo Improve quality

GM Foods• Create plants with exact traits• Isolate a gene responsible for drought tolerance

and insert into different plant• Genes from non-plant organisms have been

introduced into plantso Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacteria produces crystal protein toxic to

caterpillarso Bt gene inserted into corn to produce the crystal protein

Bacillus thuringeinsis• Bacteria• Bt discovered in 1901 by Japanese microbiologist• Crystal protein that binds to gut of certain insects• Bt spray developed in 1938 in France• Bt-modified crops first used in 1996

o Corn, cotton, and potato

Advantages• Insect and disease resistance• Reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides

o Bt corn controls corn earworm and rootworm without pesticideso Bt cotton controls bollworm

AdvantagesHerbicide resistance• Crops immune to Round-up

o Round-up Ready trademark

• One application of Round-up to control weedso Significant increase in Round-upo Traces found in the environment (US Geological Survey)

AdvantagesEnvironmental tolerance• Cold

o An antifreeze gene from cold water fish• Tobacco and potato

• Drought• Saline

AdvantagesNutrition• Increase nutritional value

o “Golden” rice with increased beta carotene

Golden Rice• 250 million people suffer from vitamin A

deficiency• Rice is a staple food in many poor countries

o Contains no vitamin A

• Agrobacterium used to carry beta-carotene manufacturing enzymes from daffodil and “inoculated” rice cells

• Insert the new “beta-carotene” gene into rice

Edible Vaccines• Cholera is a bacterial disease that causes deadly

diarrheao Countries without clean water

• A vaccine “gene” identified• Vaccine “gene” is inserted into potatoes

o Survives cookingo Potatoes easy to grow and ship to poor countries

Healthier Food• Increase starch in potatoes

o High starch potatoes absorb less oil when fried

• Sugar beets to produce fructan instead of sucroseo Fructan still sweet but not digested

DisadvantagesEnvironmental Hazards• Unintended harm

o Bt corn pollen affecting monarch butterflies

• Gene transfer to non-target specieso Herbicide-resistance genes transferring to weeds

• Superweeds

DisadvantagesHuman Health Risks• Allergenicity

o Create new lethal allergies

• Unknown, long-term effects

DisadvantagesEconomic Concerns• Patented varieties expensive• Small farmers and Third World agriculture

impacted • Accidental patent infringement

o Watch the movie, “Food, Inc”

GMO Inherently Unsafe

• Process is unpredictable• Mutations occur at the gene insertion site• Study proved herbicide resistant gene in

soybeans (Bt) transferred to human gut bacteriao Continued functioning

• Long after consumption, GM proteins still present in organism (human)

Digestive Tract Effects• FlavrSavr tomatoes created stomach lesions in

rats• GM potatoes (Bt) caused abnormal cell growth in

mice intestines • Several studies led to liver damage from GM

foods• GM soy and potatoes affected pancreas and

kidney function in mice

Safety Aspects• 2008 report by Royal Society of Medicine

o No ill human effects linked to GMO

• 2009 report by Nutrition Reviewso Do not differ in nutritiono No detectable toxic effectso Changes have occurred at cellular level due to GMO

• 2005 review in Allergy journalo No biotech proteins have been documented to cause allergic reactions

• http://theantimedia.org/victory-maine/• http://www.biofortified.org/genera/• http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/• http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=29

09#.UxXlFONdV8E

• http://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/glyphosate02.html

• http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5058.html• http://enhs.umn.edu/current/5103/gm/harmful.ht

ml• http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/mehmet-oz-md/gen

etically-modified-foods-good-or-bad• http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/over

view.php• http://www.academia.edu/542384/A_Review_on_I

mpacts_of_Genetically_Modified_Food_on_Human_Health