“Am borinn so am talking my timmmeeeee taking my timeeeee on my riddddeeee”
Oh! Ohio everyone, sorry i was listening to twenty one pilot’s ride hahaha
Before starting anything we first should write down our primes, the definition of the word “definition”
In simple words “definition” means:- the process of highlighting the simplest structure and function of a term
Next we can start with our topic
***disclaimer:- these are not my words am simply summarizing a lil bit from the book {GMO MYTHS AND TRUTHS}, plus any studies that are written here need to be received by a real scientist so any decision can be made.
GMO VS ORGANIC CROPS:-
To tackle this topic we shall:-
1- define the two concepts
2- define the process of making GMO
3- establish that GMO isn’t that great
4- conclusion
1- DEFINITION:-
A- organic crops:-
Let’s start by defining organic crops:- any food that is obtained without genetic interventions. By gentical interventions we mainly mean induced changes to an organism’s genome. In other words, yes natural breeding is part of organic farming.
This is the standard way of farming. Furthermore, there is a move to return to organic farming and to stop playing with “nature’s children”.
B- GMO:-
As for GMO they are:- Genetically Modified Organisms. from the name we can deduce that they are food (animal based or plant) that is genetically modified
The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines GMO as:- organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally.
Myth debunked 1:- Genetic engineering is different from natural breeding
2- the process of gene modification:-
Most of the functions of a cell or an organism is facilitated by the existence of proteins, proteins are encoded in genes. In simple words if you have the gene then you have the protein and its function
Not all proteins are found in every organism, so the basic principle is to give the organism the gene so it can synthesize the protein.
Step(1):- isolation of gene of interest
A- an overall knowledge of the genome of the two organisms is needed
B- identifying of the gene of interest is done
C- using the process of DNA-recombination the gene of interest is combined with a plasmid to be “cloned”.
Step(2):- cutting and splicing
A- after cloning the gene of interest further modifications are needed to be done
B- every organism has his own set of genes that is premeting to expression.
C- cutting of unneeded nucleotides and adding necessary nucleotides is needed.
Step(3):- insertion
A- after modifications all that is left now is to insert the gene of interest into the genome of the organism, two ways to do that:-
B- first way, bombardment:- by using a gene gun to shoot gold particles coated with the gene of interest towards the cells of the organism, only a few times it works and this process is completely random.
C- second way, to use the bactrium A. Tumefaciens
Myth debunked 2:- Genetic engineering is crude and imprecise, and the results are unpredictable
Step(4):- Selection
A- in step(3), only a small amount of cells are successfully modified
B- so we kill all the unmodified cells to obtain only modified ones
Step(5):- hormone treatment
A- treatment of modified cells to proliferate and develop into full mature genetically modified organisms.
Step(6):- verification
A- to check growth and elemenat any modified organs with any defects
3- Health hazards of GM foods:-
(Again this post is not scientific i.e it may be biased)
Myth debunked 3:- GMO may affect the health of humans
Studies show that GM foods can be toxic, allergenic, or have unintended nutritional changes, The GM transformation process may produce mutagenic effects that can disrupt or alter gene structure thus cause effects at other levels of biological structure and function. Also The GM gene product may be toxic or allergenic.
1- Unintended changes in composition:-
-Evidence based studies showed that GM crops have different composition to their non-GM counterparts
- this will result in altered nutritional value that could directly affect the health of the animal or human being that eats the food through providing an excess or shortage of certain nutrients
- also it is an indicator that the GM process has altered biochemical processes in the plant.
- This could be a clue that other unexpected and as yet unidentified changes have also occurred that might impact human or animal health, such as altered toxicity or allergenicity.
2- examples of Toxic effects and signs of toxicity in laboratory and farm animal feeding studies with GMOs:-
(most of the examples are on rats and for a full decision the studys need to be read in details)
1. Severe organ damage and increased rates of large tumours and mortality:- Rats fed Monsanto’s GM maize NK603 and tiny amounts of Roundup herbicide, which the maize is engineered to tolerate, over a long-term two-year period developed severe liver and kidney damage
2. Altered blood biochemistry, multiple organ damage, and potential effects on male fertility:-
I- Rats fed the GM Bt maize MON810: Ajeeb YG (a variety developed by Monsanto for the Egyptian market) for 45 and 91 days showed differences in organ and body weights and in blood biochemistry, compared with rats fed the non-GM parent variety grown side-by-side in the same conditions
II- Histopathological investigations by the same group of researchers found toxic effects in multiple organs in rats fed the GM Bt maize for 91 days. Effects included abnormalities and fatty degeneration of liver cells, congestion of blood vessels in kidneys, and excessive growth and necrosis (death) of intestinal structures called villi.
3. Immune response and allergic reaction:- Mice fed GM peas engineered with an insecticidal protein (alpha-amylase inhibitor) from beans showed a strong, sustained immune reaction against the GM protein. Mice developed antibodies against the GM protein and an allergic-type inflammation response (delayed hypersensitivity reaction).
Conclusion must be made that GMO may induce adverse effects, so prolonged studies are needed, as for the question to be asked is this the case?
3- Regulators do not require long-term tests on GMOs:-
Though to be accurate not all GMO has adverse effects, but they may have. So prolonged studies are needed, unfortunately currently, no long-term tests on GM crops or foods are required by regulatory authorities anywhere in the world.
The longest tests that are routinely conducted on GM foods for regulatory assessments are 90-day rodent feeding trials. In Europe, even these were not compulsory 29 until 2013, when a new law was ed.
4- conclusion:-
Advances in agriculture are to be welcomed if they can contribute to a more sustainable, secure and fair production system and help solve the problem of world hunger and malnutrition.
So in end there is nothing as better or worse their is the greater good, and any new technology should be studied thoroughly before being applied to public.
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