Genetically Modified

Foods and Chemicals

By: Vanessa and Morgan

What are Genetically Modified

Foods?

The term GM foods or GMOs (genetically-modified

organisms) is most commonly used to refer to
genetically modified foods.
GM's are crop plants created for human or animal
consumption using the latest molecular biology
techniques.
These plants have been modified in a lab to enhance
desired traits such as increased resistance to
herbicides or improved nutritional content.
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Cont.
Normally they are created through plant
breeding, but because breeding is time
consuming and the plants do not always
come out as planned, scientists have
turned to genetic engineering.
Genetic engineering is very accurate and
always produces the plant that you
want.
The main question is are GM's good or
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bad? You decide...

The Advantages
The world population is growing each
year and is expected to double in the
next 50 years which is going to be a
challenge to provide an adequate food
supply for all those people.
GM foods guarantee to take care of this
problem by using resistance to solve
basic problems that hinder normal food
production.
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Cont.
Scientists can modify plants so that they
can resist pests, herbicides, the cold,
drought, all while increasing the
nutrition that you get from the plant.
This increases the yield from each crop
and saves money that you would be using
to buy pesticides etc. to protect your
crops.
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Disadvantages
Most concerns about GM foods fall into
three categories: environmental hazards,
human health risks, and economic
concerns.
Last year an experiment in the lab
proved that the GM plants emitted
pesticides to help it grow, actually killed
much of the insects and animals living in
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the corn.

Cont.
Also though the plants are modified to produce their
own pesticides the plants and bugs with develop
resistance to the pesticides and eventually even more
harmful pesticides will need to be used to get rid of
the unwanted weeds etc.
Also the GM plants can transfer and breed with other
normal plants creating unwanted GM plants in normal
crops two to three fields away.
No one knows what the effects of GM plants are on
people and animals yet, so you possibly could be
hurting yourself without even knowing it was bad for
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you.

Cont.
The seed for the GM plants is more
expensive than normal seed and all of
the plants need to be replanted each
year unlike some crops. This might not
be an option for poorer farmers who
cannot afford the costs of these special
seeds every year.
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Pesticides

What are Pesticides?

Commonly used in food we eat.
Controls pests that damage crops.
Improve quality and shelf-life in certain
foods

http://npic.orst.edu/health/food.html

npic.orst.edu

Human Growth and Development

New science is starting to show that
exposure to low doses of chemicals can
impact on human growth and development.
Researchers have found that exposure to
these chemicals during child development
can contribute to health problems later in
life.
Can lead to heart disease, diabetes, or
cancer.

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/assets/docs_a_e/child_development_and_environmental_toxins_508.pdf

Why Organic?
Some people choose organic foods to
contribute better health and reduced
pesticide exposure.
Organic food is proven to be more
nutritious.
Studies show that products from
organically raised animals tend to be a
healthier choice.

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/organicfood/health/index.php

Pros and Cons

Pros
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H9WZGKQeYg

Cons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAOHDDaTd6E&feature=related

Which side are you on?

Reference Page

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/assets/docs_a_e/child_development_and_environmental_toxins_508.pdf
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/organicfood/health/index.php