Animal Nutrition: Pros And Cons Of Genetically Modified Organisms
Animal Nutrition
Rachel Barner
11/18/14
Pros and Cons of Genetically Modified Organisms
Genetically modified food has quietly become second nature in the U.S., and it may surprise you just how many foods you are eating that you never knew contained a genetically modified ingredient. The most common genetically modified foods are soybeans, maize, cotton, and rape seed oil. The term genetically modified food refers to crop plants that have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits, such as resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. This paper is going to discuss the risks and benefits of GMO’s in livestock feeds and in our daily diets.
One of the biggest pros when looking into GMO products is that they have better …show more content…
overall quality and taste compared non- modified crops. Through the modification of foods, the flavors can be enhanced. On a smaller scale, peppers can become spicier and difficult flavors can be more palatable. On a larger scale, plants and animals can be engineered to produces larger amounts of vitamins and minerals and could lead to the production of foods designed specifically for heathy diet of all consumers.
Another pro of GMO’s is that they are more resistant to disease and have more nutritional benefits.
Because crops can be modified to be resistant to specific herbicides farmers can kill unwanted plants and leave the food crop unaffected. Improved stress tolerance and faster growth are also great advantages. Genetically modified crops can be modified to contain a higher nutrient value which could supply much needed minerals to livestock and keep them at a heathier level than before. This in turn would increase the turnover of nutrients that in the meat that would be sold to the consumer. Although GMO have many benefits, they also bring several cons and side effects to the …show more content…
table. One of the main cons to GMO’s is that they can cause environmental damage.
Because over 80% of all GMO’s are engineered for herbicide tolerance there has been an emergence of super weeds and super bugs to attack the newly modified crops which can only be killed with more toxic poisions like those in Agent Orange. It is also possible that pollen from GM crops an be spread to other fields and create new modified plants and become uncontrollable which could damage delicate ecosystems. Another factor to be taken into account would be the possible excess of herbicides that could be carried away by rainfall to pollute rivers and other waterways. Although this risk is already evident, the use of more toxic herbicides and at higher volumes could cause the risk to become more of a larger scaled issue.
Another con of GMO’s is that they can cause the rate of food related allergic reactions to increase. Studies have shown that the consumption of GMO foods increase the risk of food- based allergies in people. If someone develops a food based allergy to soy because of GMO efforts, and livestock eat the GM product then that increases the probability of that person having a reaction. Although this risk isn’t a large component at the moment when it comes to the decision of whether or not to use GMO’s, it could become a more pressing matter as the amount of modification in these products increases over
time.
In conclusion, I believe that GMO’s are becoming a way of life and are a good resource for us to have. When it comes to producing better quality foods for our livestock and our families, the benefits they can offer seem to rise above the risks. The fact that these modified products can not only enhance the life of the crops and animals they are being fed to pushes me in the direction of moving forward with the modifications as long as they are kept within reason.
References:
http://healthresearchfunding.org/pros-cons-genetically-modified-foods/ http://classes.soe.ucsc.edu/cmpe080e/Spring05/projects/gmo/negative.htm http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/exist/
Rachel Barner
11/18/14
Pros and Cons of Genetically Modified Organisms
Genetically modified food has quietly become second nature in the U.S., and it may surprise you just how many foods you are eating that you never knew contained a genetically modified ingredient. The most common genetically modified foods are soybeans, maize, cotton, and rape seed oil. The term genetically modified food refers to crop plants that have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits, such as resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. This paper is going to discuss the risks and benefits of GMO’s in livestock feeds and in our daily diets.
One of the biggest pros when looking into GMO products is that they have better …show more content…
overall quality and taste compared non- modified crops. Through the modification of foods, the flavors can be enhanced. On a smaller scale, peppers can become spicier and difficult flavors can be more palatable. On a larger scale, plants and animals can be engineered to produces larger amounts of vitamins and minerals and could lead to the production of foods designed specifically for heathy diet of all consumers.
Another pro of GMO’s is that they are more resistant to disease and have more nutritional benefits.
Because crops can be modified to be resistant to specific herbicides farmers can kill unwanted plants and leave the food crop unaffected. Improved stress tolerance and faster growth are also great advantages. Genetically modified crops can be modified to contain a higher nutrient value which could supply much needed minerals to livestock and keep them at a heathier level than before. This in turn would increase the turnover of nutrients that in the meat that would be sold to the consumer. Although GMO have many benefits, they also bring several cons and side effects to the …show more content…
table. One of the main cons to GMO’s is that they can cause environmental damage.
Because over 80% of all GMO’s are engineered for herbicide tolerance there has been an emergence of super weeds and super bugs to attack the newly modified crops which can only be killed with more toxic poisions like those in Agent Orange. It is also possible that pollen from GM crops an be spread to other fields and create new modified plants and become uncontrollable which could damage delicate ecosystems. Another factor to be taken into account would be the possible excess of herbicides that could be carried away by rainfall to pollute rivers and other waterways. Although this risk is already evident, the use of more toxic herbicides and at higher volumes could cause the risk to become more of a larger scaled issue.
Another con of GMO’s is that they can cause the rate of food related allergic reactions to increase. Studies have shown that the consumption of GMO foods increase the risk of food- based allergies in people. If someone develops a food based allergy to soy because of GMO efforts, and livestock eat the GM product then that increases the probability of that person having a reaction. Although this risk isn’t a large component at the moment when it comes to the decision of whether or not to use GMO’s, it could become a more pressing matter as the amount of modification in these products increases over
time.
In conclusion, I believe that GMO’s are becoming a way of life and are a good resource for us to have. When it comes to producing better quality foods for our livestock and our families, the benefits they can offer seem to rise above the risks. The fact that these modified products can not only enhance the life of the crops and animals they are being fed to pushes me in the direction of moving forward with the modifications as long as they are kept within reason.
References:
http://healthresearchfunding.org/pros-cons-genetically-modified-foods/ http://classes.soe.ucsc.edu/cmpe080e/Spring05/projects/gmo/negative.htm http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/exist/