GM Products: The Best Solution Essay Example
GM Products: The Best Solution Essay Example

GM Products: The Best Solution Essay Example

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  • Pages: 4 (1018 words)
  • Published: January 29, 2018
  • Type: Case Study
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Take corn for example; corn used to be only a little nub on a plant called testing that grew In outworn Mexico over 7000 years ago. The kernels were small and were not fused together like the kernels modern corn we have today. Testing looked more like Bermuda grass hay.

The first ears of corn were only a few inches long, but through selective breeding we have the classic corn on the cob we buy in stores today. The problem with GM product today Is that people are not properly informed about GM products. People read about the health effects on humans from non-credible sources that are published on the Internet.

People also read about GM crop contaminating non-GM crops. The population of the world is growing and with it comes the need for more food but with l

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ess land.

That's where GM products come in because we can produce more food/fleer with less land. Also with GM products, we reduce the amount of pesticides and herbicides we put into the environment because the crops will be resistant to insects and weeds. The solutions are small but can be very helpful In deciding what you think is best for you. The first argument I want to make for GM products Is that, they produce more food with less land and waste.

Author Jennifer Nellie states, "Americans throw away early 40% of their food supply annually' (Nellie). This is a waste of food one of our most precious resources.

With genetically modified crops, we can produce enough food to supply not only our own communities/country but also help feed the world. One experiment that you

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can do is to grow a genetically modified seed and a non- genetically modified seed. Grow them in the same environment. The GM seed should grow faster and produce more than the non-GM seed.

With that being said, the united States Department of Agriculture found that, genetically modified crops have en found to increase yields, with a 10 percent change to a genetically modified herbicide tolerant crop yielding a roughly 1.

7 percent increase in productivity (United). With the uses of GM products we can reduce the cropland but produce Just as much If not more food or fiber for the growing population of the world (See flag. L). As you can see in figure 1 the world's population is estimated to be 9 billion people in 2050. Today one farmer feeds 155 people whereas back in 1960 it was only 28.

People. According to "Real Facts" on Prophylactics. Org, in 2050 that same farmer ill need to double food production to keep pace with the population growth (Farm). Flag . World population development.

"Population Kickbacks. " Santa-Barbara Family 1 OFF genetically modified products are that they reduce the use of pesticide and herbicide on the plants. Insecticide is a poison that targets either one or more specific bugs in order to kill the bugs and stop them from destroying the crops. Herbicide, also a poison, kills the weeds that suck up the water and nutrients for the desired plant.

Herbicide, also a poison, kills the weeds that suck up the water and nutrients for the sired plant. Bit toxins, a crystal protein naturally synthesized by the bacterium bacillus tragediennes have been successfully combined with

many different types of crops.

According to researchers Hutchinson, Burkes, Mitchell, Moon, and Leslie, the European corn borer, a widespread crop pest, claims 7 percent of the world's corn supply each year. Use of Bit corn has saved US farmers in Iowa and Nebraska alone up to 1. 7 billion dollars in fighting this pest over the past 14 years, when compared to non-Bit variants (Hutchinson).

An example where herbicide crops would e useful is in areas with little to no rainfall and where water is a precious resource like Arizona. Herbicide-resistant crops are engineered to be resistant to glasshouse, a herbicide with relatively low toxicity levels, which allows for the spraying of glasshouse on crops to kill weeds, the EPA rates glasshouse as a low toxic level, suitable for human consumption (EPA). What we can do is go ask a farmer.

You can ask a farmer that are for GM and ask farmers that are for non-GM. Then you can compare the output and the quality of each crop. An example is the Roundup Ready soybean made by Monsanto.

To sum this up we would use less herbicide and pesticide on our crops, saving on fuel because we would not have to apply the herbicide and pesticide with our tractors and sprayers.

One opposition that someone could have about GM products is that GM crops may pollinate non-GM crops. Thus making the non-GM crop contaminated with the GM crop and the farmer may not be able to sell his crop. This brings up a very important question, what is to stop the bees or butterflies from getting these two plants crossed and making a

mutant plant? Bees have been known to fly many miles in order to get nectar to take back to their ivies.

The bees do not care about cross contamination so it is very possible that this may happen. But there are normally buffer zones to prevent this from happening. To add to this topic, the United States Food and Drug Administration strictly monitor farmers selling non-GM versus GM crops.

There are a few reliable independent studies that have been performed on the health risks of genetically modified products. The most condemning research done on such organisms is the work of renowned scientist ARPA Piazzas, who found evidence of intestinal damage caused by genetically modified potatoes.

His funding was suspended for his publication of preliminary results, and therefore the study was never completed (Renders). Arthur Kaplan says in his article, "Strand of Promise and Genetically Modified Foods" 3/4 of Americans are concerned about genetically modified foods (Kaplan). In conclusion, the health risks of people who eat GM products are, that there isn't many studies that tell of the long-term effects of GM products will have on the human body. In conclusion, you need to ask yourself that one very important question, how are we going to feed the world?

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