|
|
|
 |
|
Thesis List and Presentation
|
|
Hayley Seo
Gene Modification in food, and its outlook
|
|
|
|
|
|
Summary
This report aims to give readers idea about what genetic modification is, by explaining the brief timeline of events related to genetics. It’s another purpose is to let people know the real truth, especially for people who severely hate ‘genetically modified animals(experiments) or foods’. I would like to tell them that some of the facts they have heard about or know of gene modification, is not entirely the truth . In the last part of the thesis, I will give my opinion on the issue about ‘why GM foods yet cannot be the solution to hunger’.
While writing this report, I found a timeline related to biological events that happened so far. I referred to the year, and the date of a specific event and did some further research on it. That way, I could visit a variety of websites and gather more precise information. When writing the benefits and problems of gene modification part, the information I looked up helped me to organize and build up my thoughts for conclusion. Through research, some of the bad aspects of GMOs that I have known so far, were not exactly true.
I am not an expert in genetics, so while doing research, some specific words or parts were difficult to understand. So I sent emails to biology teachers and could get explanations from them. When I sometimes could not understand specific parts from the e-mails, then that led me to self-further-studying. While doing this job, any terms that seemed universally unfamiliar, I included a footnote to give a simple explanation to each one for better understanding.
What I realized, was that some of the negative recognition of GM products must be improved. Some people might still have false information about it; for instance, suspicions that GM foods have an increase in allergies compared to original foods. Also, I realized the reason why world hunger is keep going on, and that Monsanto is interfering the policy makers and farmers to make decisions to leading to more sustainable agriculture.
Introduction
At the time when people trained organisms in their houses, which is since XII century BC, ‘gene modification’ in general, has started by human activity. To give a brief explanation about gene modification, it uses biotechnology to to directly manipulate an organism’s gene. Gene modification can be explained by gene engineering. Scientists may change, delete or introduce an additional copy of a gene. Also, DNA can be extracted from a single organism and be combined with the DNA of one another organism. To sum up these points easily, it is an action to enhance or change the aspects of organisms.
To indicate some examples of animals and plants that have been genetically modified; In 1973, the first hereditarily modified organism was created; a mouse by Rudolf Jaenisch. A tobacco was inserted with an antibiotic resistant in 1983. Becoming the first genetically modified plant, adding and manipulation of genes were allowed by scientists.
Nowadays, most food people eat have the high possibility to have been genetically modified. With corns and maizes being genetically modified for the first time, now farmers are doing makeup to their foods in purpose today. Indeed, corns are important, as they comprise 23% of human food world wide. However, although gene modification to foods like corns seem to bring benefits to human worldwide and become solutions to starvation, concerns to these GMO(genetically modified organisms) food are rising up, followed by campaigns that says to stop the gene modification to foods.
In this material, some brief history of gene modification will be presented, including a brief explanation of the human genome project in superior. The main focus of the thesis will be on the benefits and problems of gene modification with food industry, and the future outlook of it. Gene modification on humans will not be dealt specifically in this thesis.
|
|
