What Are Genetically-modified Foods1

8/9/2019 What Are Genetically-modified Foods1

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For Contemporary Strategic Issues inManagement

DATED:21st October,2009

By: Swati Jain

Tarun Chopra


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In its purest form, the term "biotechnology"

refers to the use of living organisms or their

products to modify human health and the

human environment. Prehistoric biotechnologists did this as they

used yeast cells to raise bread dough and to

ferment alcoholic beverages, and bacterial

cells to make cheeses and yogurts and asthey bred their strong, productive animals to

make even stronger and more productive

offspring.


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Biotechnology is technology based on biology,

agriculture, food science, and medicine.

Modern use of the term usually refers to geneticengineering as well as cell- and tissue culture

technologies.


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United Nations Convention on Biological

Diversity defines biotechnology as:

"Any technological application that uses

biological systems, dead organisms, or

derivatives thereof, to make or modify

products or processes for specific use."


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Biotechnology has applications in four major

industrial areas, including:

health care (medical)

crop production and agriculture

non food (industrial) uses of crops and other

products (e.g. biodegradable plastics,

vegetable oil, biofuels)

environmental uses.


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Application of biotechnology is the directed

use of organisms for the manufacture of

organic products (examples include beer and

milk products). Another example is using naturally present

bacteria by the mining industry in

bioleaching.

Biotechnology is also used to recycle, treatwaste, clean up sites contaminated by

industrial activities (bioremediation)

And also to produce biological weapons.


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APPLICATION OF

BIOTECHNOLOGYIN THE AREAS OF

GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS


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GM foods refer to crop plants created for

human or animal consumption using the

latest molecular biology techniques

These plants have been modified in thelaboratory to enhance desired traits such as

increased resistance to herbicides or

improved nutritional content


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Source:www.superstock.com/.../1538R-57467


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The enhancement of desired traits has been

undertaken through conventional plant

breeding methods that are very time

consuming and are often not very accurate On the other hand, Genetic engineering, can

create plants with the exact desired trait

very rapidly and with great accuracy

The best known example of this is the use ofB.t. genes or Bacillus thuringiensis in corn


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Pest resistance

Herbicide tolerance

Disease resistance

Cold tolerance

Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance

Nutrition

Pharmaceuticals Phytoremediation


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Source:www.spec.bc.ca/gardens/gmo.php


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The Countries that Grow 99% of the

World's Transgenic Crops

69%

23%

7% 1%

USA

Argentina

Canada

China


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Some examples of these plants include

tomatoes and cantaloupes that have

modified ripening characteristics

soybeans and sugar beets that are resistantto herbicides

corn and cotton plants with increased

resistance to insect pests


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Source:www.columban.org.au/Our-works/peace-ecology-j...


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Unintended harm to other organisms

Reduced effectiveness of pesticides

Gene transfer to non-target species


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Source::www.superstock.com/.../1538R-57483


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Allergenicity

Unknown effects on human health


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Source:isiria.wordpress.com/.../


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Source:katie-humanbio.blogspot.com/2008/03/lay-off-m...


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Bringing a GM food to market is a lengthy

and costly process

Patenting these new plant varieties will raise

the price of seeds, thus widening the gapbetween the wealthy and the poor


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Source:www.eyeondna.com/.../


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To establish a regulatory process to monitor the

effects of and approve new varieties of GM

plants

In Japan, testing of GM food is mandatory In India, policy on GM foods because no GM crops

are grown in India and no products are

commercially available in supermarkets yet

It is highly likely that India will decide that the

benefits of GM foods outweigh the risks becauseIndian agriculture will need to adopt drastic new

measures to counteract the country's endemic

poverty and feed its exploding population


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Some states in Brazil have banned GM crops

entirely

In the last few years Europe has experienced

two major foods scares: bovine spongiformencephalopathy (mad cow disease) in Great

Britain and dioxin-tainted foods originating

from Belgium


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In USA, there are 3 different governmentagencies that have jurisdiction over GM food

EPA- evaluates GM plants for environmentalsafety i.e. the EPA is responsible for regulating

substances such as pesticides or toxins that maycause harm to the environment

USDA evaluates whether the plant is safe to growsuch as drought-tolerant or disease-tolerantcrops, crops grown for animal feeds, or wholefruits, vegetables and grains for human

consumption FDA evaluates whether the plant is safe to eat

i.e. FDA is concerned with pharmaceuticals,cosmetics and food products and additives, notwhole foods


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There are many questions that must be

answered if labelling of GM foods becomes

mandatory

Are consumers willing to absorb the cost ofsuch an initiative?

What are the acceptable limits of GM

contamination in non-GM products?

Who is to be responsible for educating thepublic about GM food labels and how costly

will that education be?


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THANK YOU

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What Are Genetically-modified Foods1