BioTech and Art - Week 6

Figure One: Corn 

When the settlers first came to the Americas they needed to figure out what they were going to farm. They brought some crops with them but they knew that they were going to have to find out what the native people planted in order to guarantee that they could survive here. From this day forward people in North America have become extremely reliable on crops. The United States produces 18% of the world's food despite only farming 10% of its land (1) Since agriculture has gotten so big changes have taken place. A major change is the rise of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). This is where a person changes the crops by introducing artificial DNA, vitamins or pesticides to the crop. This blog post will compare the cons and pros of GMOs.

Figure Two: Genetically Modified Tomato

One of the major problems that people have with GMOs is that they are herbicide resistant because the plants have been altered in a way so that they can resist weed killers. This resistance to herbicides then lead to an increase in super weeds that are resistant to the herbicides as well leaving the farmers no choice but to increase their herbicide use that can ultimately be harmful to humans (2).  The overall question remains, are GMOs are safe for humans? The answer is tricky as there is science supporting both sides of the argument but to give you a sense of how 60 major countries including the United States, Japan and all the countries in the European Union feel about GMOs we can look at the restrictions they have placed on them. These 60 countries have not only placed major restrictions on the GMOs and some of these countries have banned them outright (3).

Figure Three: GMO Acreage 

While GMOs can be harmful to humans they can also help us out a whole bunch. The first way they can be beneficial to us is through added nutritional value, for example Vitamin A and iron can be added to rice plants (4). This can be especially useful to areas that may not have a large yield of crops, the reason is that the people may not have as much food to eat as other places but the food that they do have will be packed with nutrients so they can eat less of it and still be relatively healthy. Another way GMOs can be helpful to plants and humans is that food that has GMOs in it has a longer shelf life allowing for it to be shipped farther then ever before (5). Take Oxnard, CA for example, this is an area that produces a large amount of the nations strawberries. Before GMOs

As you can see GMOs have both positive and negative effects on humans. The purpose of this blog is not to sway you from one side to the other but rather educate you on the positives and negatives of GMOs. We can definitely see the benefits of changing the organisms but as with anything that we mess with it can come harmful to humans. So next time your in the store look on the label of the food your buying, GMOs are more common then you think.

Bibliography
Online Sources
1.) "Crop Protection Facts and Pesticide Data." Crop Protection Facts and Pesticide Data. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.
2.) "Institute for Responsible Technology." - 10 Reasons to Avoid GMOs. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.
3.) "GMO Facts." The NonGMO Project RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.
4.) "Genetically Modified Plants." Health Works Collective. N.p., n.d. Web.
5.) "Benefits of GM Food:." GMO. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.

Pictures in Order of Appearance
Figure One: "Corn." Corn 2573x1709px #267001. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.
Figure Two: "This Is the Most Important Vote to Stop GMOs from Coming to Europe." SumOfUs. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2015.
Figure Three: "GM Crops: Costs and Benefits: GM Food." GM Crops: Costs and Benefits: GM Food. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.