GM Products: Benefits and Controversies
Benefits
Crops Enhanced taste and quality(???)
Reduced maturation time
Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides(????)
New products and growing techniques
Animals Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
Improved animal health and diagnostic methods
Environment "Friendly"(????) bioherbicides and bioinsecticides
Conservation of soil, water, and energy
Bioprocessing for forestry products
Better natural waste management
More efficient processing
Society Increased food security for growing populations
Controversies
Safety Potential human health impacts, including allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects
Potential environmental impacts, including: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
Access and Intellectual Property
Domination of world food production by a few companies
Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries
Biopiracy, or foreign exploitation of natural resources Ethics Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values
Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
Stress for animal
Labeling Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
Mixing GM crops with non-GM products confounds labeling attempts
Society New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml
horizontal gene transfer is the movement of genes between two different organisms. Bacteria use horizontal gene transfer to exchange resistance to antibiotics. Recent studies have shown that plants can also use horizontal gene transfer, especially parasitic plants and their hosts due to their intimate physical connections.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120608100846.htm
Until recently, scientists did not fully understand why viruses only affected a small range of host organisms. This discovery shows that the accompanying satellite gene of CMV must directly match the host plant's genes to cause the yellowing disease.
When the viral satellite's genes match the host plant's genes, the satellite genes 'lock' onto and slice the host's genes, preventing the host from forming green chlorophyll pigment.
"Think of it as like doing up a zipper on your jacket -- two opposing but different sections have to come together for it to work," Dr Wang said.
"So one half of the 'zipper' genes come from the virus and the other half of the genes from the host, and when they match up the virus causes disease."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110810093833.htm
Benefits
Crops Enhanced taste and quality(???)
Reduced maturation time
Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides(????)
New products and growing techniques
Animals Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
Improved animal health and diagnostic methods
Environment "Friendly"(????) bioherbicides and bioinsecticides
Conservation of soil, water, and energy
Bioprocessing for forestry products
Better natural waste management
More efficient processing
Society Increased food security for growing populations
Controversies
Safety Potential human health impacts, including allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects
Potential environmental impacts, including: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
Access and Intellectual Property
Domination of world food production by a few companies
Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries
Biopiracy, or foreign exploitation of natural resources Ethics Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values
Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
Stress for animal
Labeling Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
Mixing GM crops with non-GM products confounds labeling attempts
Society New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml
horizontal gene transfer is the movement of genes between two different organisms. Bacteria use horizontal gene transfer to exchange resistance to antibiotics. Recent studies have shown that plants can also use horizontal gene transfer, especially parasitic plants and their hosts due to their intimate physical connections.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120608100846.htm
Until recently, scientists did not fully understand why viruses only affected a small range of host organisms. This discovery shows that the accompanying satellite gene of CMV must directly match the host plant's genes to cause the yellowing disease.
When the viral satellite's genes match the host plant's genes, the satellite genes 'lock' onto and slice the host's genes, preventing the host from forming green chlorophyll pigment.
"Think of it as like doing up a zipper on your jacket -- two opposing but different sections have to come together for it to work," Dr Wang said.
"So one half of the 'zipper' genes come from the virus and the other half of the genes from the host, and when they match up the virus causes disease."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110810093833.htm
