Pro's and Con's of GMO's

Jack - scribe

McManus - moderator
1) Why not just give impoverish countries the technology to help?
- because the USA is capitalistic
2)  If the world doesn't want them, then why give them to poor countries.
3) If they prolong shelf life of food, why would someone want a month long orange.
4) If plants can resist weed, what happens if the weeds become resistant.

Pro - Abigail
- With GMO's you get more food
- It'll help the extra 2 billion people that will fill the world by 2050
- All from WebMD
- Farmers can grow more food as these foods can grow in droughts and are less likely to die from disease
- Not using these tools will push us back in 20-40 in food production
- causes less stress on the environment
- gets rid of weeds
- help grow better crops faster, more food for consumers
- lower risk of crop failures
- better resistant to extreme weather, example cold winter
- longer life, allows easier transport
- helpful to send food to impoverish countries
- less chemicals that reduces pollution
- better nutrition
- up the amount of minerals in the vitamin, which is more nutritious

1)      Insect Resistance - Some GMO foods have been modified to make them more resistant to insect pests. The University of California in San Diego reports that a toxic bacterium can be added to crops to make them insect repellent, yet safe for human use. This can reduce the amount of pesticide chemicals used on the plants, thus potentially reducing exposure to pesticides.

2)      Environmental Protection - Oklahoma State University reports that the increase of GMO crops and animals often requires less chemicals, time and tools, and may help to reduce environmental pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and soil erosion. This can improve the general beauty and health of the environment surrounding farms and contribute to the sustaining of better air and water quality, which can indirectly benefit your personal well-being.

3)      More Nutritious Foods - The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations reports that some GMO foods have been engineered to be more nutritious in terms of mineral or vitamin content. Not only does this help you get the nutrients you need, it can also play a significant role in battling malnutrition in the developing world. The United Nations advises that vitamin A-enhanced rice is helping to reduce global vitamin A deficiencies.

4)      Better overall quality and taste - Through the modification of foods, the flavors can be enhanced. Peppers can become spicier or sweeter. Corn can become sweeter. Difficult flavors can become more palatable.

5)      More resistant to disease - Plants and animals that have been genetically modified can become more resistant to the unexpected problems of disease. Think of it as a vaccine for that plant or animal, except that the vaccine is encoded into the genetics instead of a shot given to the immune system.

Con - Andrew
- have been banned in most other major countries
- 60% of countries banned - they aren't safe
- no benefactor
- food grows at same rate of time
- caused many super strains of insects and weeds - according to Brown
- pesticides are still used and stronger are used to kill these new weeds and insects
- pattonable - so they have the risk of putting hard working farmers out of work
- 80% of processed food in the US
- significant increase in diseases and cancers

1)      Allergic Reactions - GMO foods can present significant allergy risks to people, according to Brown University. Genetic modification often mixes or adds proteins that weren't indigenous to the original plant or animal, causing new allergic reactions in the human body. In some cases, proteins from an organism that you're allergic to may be added to an organism that you weren't originally allergic to, prompting the same allergic reaction experienced from the first organism.

2)      Decreased Antibiotic Efficacy - Some GMO foods have had antibiotic features built into them to make them immune or resistant to diseases or viruses, according to Iowa State University. When you eat them, these antibiotic markers persist in your body and can make actual antibiotic medications less effective. The university warns that such ingestion of GMO foods and regular exposure to antibiotics may be contributing to the decreased effectiveness of antibiotic drugs that is being noticed in hospitals around the world.

3)      Gene Transfer - A constant risk of GMO foods is that the modified genes of the organisms may escape into the wild. Brown University warns that herbicide-resistant genes from commercial crops may cross into the wild weed population, thus creating "superweeds" that are impossible to kill with herbicides. A related risk is that the escape of genetically enhanced animals and vegetation can create new super-organisms that can out-compete natural animal and plant populations to drive certain species into extinction.

4)      There is no economic value - GMO foods take just as long to mature and take just as much effort to grow, meaning that there is no real economic value to growing GMO foods when compared to non-GMO foods.

5)      Environmental damage - By growing plants or raising livestock in environmental conditions that normally wouldn’t support them, there is the potential of irrevocably damaging that environment. This is often seen through GMO crossbreading – weeds, for example, that can be crossed with GMO plants can often become resistant to herbicides, creating the need for more GMO efforts.

Counters:
- Yes, GMOs help impoverished nations, but not best for the US
- Thought they make the food cheaper, but is it cheaper if you have cancer

Links: 1)      http://www.livestrong.com/article/213053-pros-cons-of-gmo-foods/

http://healthresearchfunding.org/pros-cons-genetically-modified-foods/

WINNER: Andrew