Question

Read the frankenfoods the debate over genetically modified crops case study and please help me answer these!

GMO Frankenfoods Case Study Questions (3).docx - Protected View - Saved to this PC References Mailings Review View Help Search ntain viruses. Unless you need to edit, it's safer to stay in Protected View. Enable Editing GMO Frankenfoods Debate (Biotech) - Case Study Questions Part 1 1. Find and explain a definition of "traditional plant breeding" 2. Find and explain a definition of "genetically modified organism". 3. How do these two types of offspring creation differ in relation to carried traits? 4. What is the definition of carcinogenic? 5. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), how can pesticides affect the health of a person? 6. How could Mina's work with sorghum be of benefit? 7. How could Mina's idea of assisting with the research with vaccines against diarrhea- causing bacteria into bananas be of benefit? 8. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), how is the safety of GM food conducted? What are the 6 characteristics they look at? 9. Are the activists justified in their acts of vandalism against food that has been modified through biotechnology means? Why or why not? i e

Answer 1

1) Traditional plant breeding means using mainly non laboratory methods mainly manual and natural to stimulate and produce the genitic charecter of a particular organism. Examples are : bridgecross , manipulation, in-vitro fertilization etc .

2) A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques and not naturally .

3) The goal of both GM and conventional plant breeding is to produce crops with improved characteristics by changing their genetic makeup. GM achieves this by adding a new gene or genes to the genome of a crop plant. Conventional breeding achieves it by crossing together plants with relevant characteristics, and selecting the offspring with the desired combination of characteristics, as a result of particular combinations of genes inherited from the two parents. But the gene of interest might not exist in a species that can be successfully crossed with the crop. The gene might come from an entirely different kingdom, such as a bacterium, or it might come from a different plant species. Conventional breeding can only be done if the gene is in same species .genetical engineering has no barrier in that .Today’s high yield crop lines have carefully honed combinations of genes. If a useful gene or gene variant is discovered in a wild relative, crossing the high yield line with the wild relative will result in mixing together the genomes of the two parents, destroying the carefully selected combination of genes in the high yield line. Using modern molecular breeding techniques, such as “marker assisted breeding”, it is possible to reassemble those gene combinations over a relatively small number generations. Nonetheless, it does take multiple generations, and therefore several years. Furthermore, even then it is almost always the case that additional genes that are very close to the gene of interest are also transferred. These problems can be avoided if it is possible to introduce the gene directly into the high yield crop by genetic modification. So we can conclude that traits carried will be maximal and less targetive in conventional plant breeding and minimal and precisely targeted in GMO.

4) The potential of an object or organism to cause cancer is called carcinogenic ( initiates cancer ).

5)

Pesticides can cause short-term adverse health effects, called acute effects, as well as chronic adverse effects that can occur months or years after exposure. Examples of acute health effects include stinging eyes, rashes, blisters, blindness, nausea, dizziness, diarrhea and death. Examples of known chronic effects are cancers, birth defects, reproductive harm, neurological and developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity, and disruption of the endocrine system.

Some people are more vulnerable than others to pesticide impacts. For example, infants and young children are known to be more susceptible than adults to the toxic effects of pesticides. Farm workers and pesticide applicators are also more vulnerable because they receive greater exposures.Exposure to pesticides could increase chances of having a miscarriage, a baby with birth defects, or other problems. Some pesticides also may be able to pass into breast milk.

6) Work refrence not given

7) Work references not given

8)The safety assessment of GM foods generally focuses on: (a) direct health effects (toxicity), (b) potential to provoke allergic reaction (allergenicity); (c) specific components thought to have nutritional or toxic properties; (d) the stability of the inserted gene; (e) nutritional effects associated with genetic modification; and (f) any unintended effects which could result from the gene insertion.

9) No , Genetically-modified foods have the potential to solve many of the world's hunger and malnutrition problems, and to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labelling. Many people feel that genetic engineering is the inevitable wave of the future and that we cannot afford to ignore a technology that has such enormous potential benefits. However, we must proceed with caution to avoid causing unintended harm to human health and the environment as a result of our enthusiasm for this powerful technology. So there should be a healthy criticism not vandalism.