The Safety of New Biotechnology in Engineered Foods By: Sandra Morales

1. The Safety of New Biotechnology in Engineered Foods By: Sandra Morales

2. Have you ever eaten genetically engineered foods? Does it taste good? What is the difference? Scientists want to transfer desirable qualities from one organism to another, for example, to make a crop resistant to an herbicide or to enhance food value.

3. What is genetic engineering? • the process where blueprints in a gene are modified artificially combining the metabolic capacities of two organisms into one • Common in food like corn, soy, wheat, canola, tomatoes, potatoes, rice, etc. • Purpose for this: To enhance the productivity to sell more and increase the yield of soy

4. What are the benefits for genetic engineering? • PROS: • Large savings in food production leading to • financial gain and help fight poverty • Naturally pest-resistant and reduces the • additional chemicals, pesticides and other • dangerous additives • Reduce “world” hunger • Crops • Animals • Environment • Society

5. What are the disadvantages ? • genetic engineering is a new • technology that may have an effect • on the human body • many alternations include the • addition of chemical properties to • crops, many people fear the effect of • theses chemicals may bring to their • health • poor countries do not have easy • access to genetically engineered • foods unless given to them, giving • control to the richest nations in the • market as a result the poor nations will become • Dependent leading them to a broken economy

6. MORE CONTROVERSIES • Safety • -human and environmental impacts • Access and Intellectual Property • - domination • -dependence • -biopiracy • Ethics • -violation • -tampering & objections • Labeling • Society

7. iN General about Genetic engineering • Genetic engineering reduces cost of production meaning that • that the poor people can afford more food • Cheaper and safer source of human medicine • Higher productivity • Genetic engineering is unnatural • GE crosses species barriers which can not occur in nature • a high danger is the “gene flow” transfer of genes from crops to weedy relatives by cross pollination • Create toxins noxious-vegetation, harm to wild life and may create new molds and fungi.

8. Facts about GE • The result is called genetically modified organism(GMO) • The Major aim is to produce much food at low cost to reduce the world hunger • Can potentially be used in humans to change their appearance, intelligence, character and adaptability • Conglomerates are buying up biotech start-up companies, seed companies, agribusiness and agrochemical concerns, pharmaceutical, medical and health businesses, and food and drink companies creating life sciences complexes to fashion bio-industrial world • Top 10 agricultural companies control 81% of the $29billion per year global agrochemical market

9. My opinion Consumers are most supportive of those uses of biotechnology in foods feel they will directly help them and their families. The reasons consumers use biotechnology were to produce more affordable pharmaceutical drugs by using plants and to produce less expensive food to reduce hunger around the world. Those same uses were viewed as having the most positive impact on consumers and their families. A similar relationship existed for most of the items tested. There will always be a positive and a negative impact on health and the environment. People do not really look at the labels on the food they buy they usually are exposed more to the news thebiotechnology.

10. What can you do? • Inform yourself about the food you eat • Communicate with your neighbors • Join campaigns to label genetically modified foods • Encourage your local neighbors to ban genetic • engineering technology until it can be controlled • Educate yourself • -“You are what you eat”- “unknown”