Persuasive Speech On Gmo Foods

Next time you are having dinner with your family, observe what is on your table. You may see meat, vegetables, bread, and even dessert. These foods may look delicious, but would you believe me if I told you all of the food you were consuming was made in a laboratory? These foods are called GMOs, genetically modified organisms. The United States Department of Agriculture defines a GMO as an organism that is produced through genetic modification. Scientists change the DNA sequence of organisms to favor natural selection, the process where better-adapted organisms survive and produce more offspring than other plants. This new biotechnology makes it easier for farmers to feed our growing population, but the effects of the mutated DNA on our health
To make a GMO, scientists select a desirable trait for the organism. Then, the scientist will look for another organism with that trait in its genome. They sort through the organism’s genome and isolate the specific gene that carries the trait. Once the scientists have selected the desired part of the genome, they can insert the new DNA into the original organism. They do this with a gene gun or with bacteria. The gene gun “shoot[s] metal particles coated with DNA into plant tissue.” If the scientists opt to use bacteria to complete the transfer of genes, they choose a bacterium that naturally invades the organism’s cells and inserts pieces of its own DNA into the organism’s genome. After a successful transfer of DNA, the plant grows and reproduces to produce more seeds with its new genome (Powell). Although this technology is relatively new, farmers have been selecting the most productive plants since the beginning of
The first to be produced was “Roundup Ready Soybeans.” Monsanto modified a soybean plant to be resistant to the chemical Roundup. These crops, called herbicide resistors, allowed farmers to spray their fields with Roundup to kill the weeds without harming their crop. Then, genetic engineers discovered a way to isolate a specific trait in a bacterium that was capable of producing an insect toxin. This toxin was known as Bt. Engineers inserted the isolated trait into an Agrobacterium which would invaded a corn cell’s nuclei to insert the new trait. When insects consumed the genetically modified corn, the Bt toxin would kill them (Ganzel). The chemical producing plant is helpful to farmers but not to its