Genetic Engineering Every day, the vast majorities of people eat genetically modified foods, and do not realize

that they are eating them. Every day people consume them, with many people having it present in everything they eat, and yet, they are oblivious. These genetically modified foods, especially plants, pose tremendous benefits, while posing few risks to the public. Genetic engineering is the deliberate modification of DNA of the intended plant or animal to be utilized. Genetically modified food poses an extremely low threshold for risks, mainly because of the care and concern that goes into researching it before the release for public use. GM food or genetically modified food is extremely safe because most of the modification is either the sorting of pre-existing genes, or those of other plants. As a testament to its safety, most food today has at one of more ingredients in it modified to make the end result better. The benefits it presents in food is significant, but the real contributions it makes is elsewhere; genetic engineering can lead to more resistant crops, and can be used to manufacture materials that are hard to obtain due to rarity or the circumstances needed to be present for harvest. The degree of these effects is astounding plants that would normally have a low nutritional value can be increased to exponentially higher levels. Flora that would not be able to survive in certain climates can be changed to thrive there, helping eliminate a dearth of available resources in remote regions. One of the most shocking abilities of genetic engineering is the ability to piggyback completely unrelated compounds into organisms. This allows proteins and other molecules that are normally hard to synthesize to be produced cheaply and quickly. With these combined benefits of genetic engineering, it is possible that with research and dedication, global

hunger could be stopped. It would not only stop people from becoming hungry, they would also be given a possible livelihood, which would also help eradicate poverty. From science fictions movies to books about killer tomatoes, the perception of what genetically engineering plants is often skewed. Consider genetic modification and genetic engineering two circles, one within the other. Genetic modification is the much larger circle, and genetic engineering is smaller circle. Now add a third circle, natural selection, and place it next to genetic engineering so that there are two smaller, separate regions inside one dominant circle. This is how the relationship between genetic modification, genetic engineering and natural selection works. Natural Genetic Modification selection and genetic engineering are both forms of genetic modification, but have some fundamental differences. Natural selection
Natural Selection Genetic Engineerin g

occurs from small, random mutations of DNA, which over time, can lead to traits becoming apparent in the affected organism. If they are

positive,

such as being able to run faster, the individual has a

slightly higher chance of producing more offspring than average and thus, passing that trait on to future generations. If the trait is negative, such as the deformity of a limb, death or the inability to find a mate will cause this particular oddity in the species to die out. Genetic engineering is the same premise as natural selection in that it changes the DNA to allow for new traits to become apparent, but in much less time, and with purpose. Also, the new traits do not have to be beneficial to the plant or animal were they to be released into the wild; if an engineered trait in a plant had no benefit for the plant, such as increasing the

edibility of rice, it would be a waste of energy, and could lead to lower reproduction rates if left in the wild. In the laboratory, artificial selection allows for scientists to choose what traits to pass on Focusing on genetic engineering, there are different ways that plants and animals can undergo changes in their DNA that would not be allowed to propagate were they in the wild. One is a strategy know to man for thousands of years, the other, a much newer and more precise method. The first is the one the father of genetics, Gregor Mendel, used with his famous peas that of taking plants with a characteristic that is physically apparent (as he did not have the tools to read DNA coding), and allowing them to reproduce, while eliminating ones that did not have the desirable trait. This method is slow and tedious, as when crossing plants, the characteristics wanted from one parent may lay dormant under the unwanted ones from another parent, leading to large amount of trials for few results. The second method is recombinant DNA technology, or gene splicing. This involves taking a wanted section of DNA which contains the coding for a certain trait, and implementing it into cells of the recipient. The recipient will continue to grow, and propagate more of the engineered cells, as it would its own, but it would display the added characteristic, as

seen in the figure from Education Scotland with the implementation of the insulin gene into a bacterium. Insulin is a product of the pancreas that allows for the breakdown of certain food compounds, notably the common sugar glucose. In people suffering from diabetes, insulin is not produced in sufficient quantities, leading to the inability to effectively utilize glucose. One method of treatment is to give the patients insulin that has been procured and purified, often from the pancreas of cows that have been slaughtered. This method is slow and has severe limitations, since once the supply from one pancreas is used, an entire new pancreas must be utilized. With genetic engineering, bacterium that would not normally produce insulin can be modified so that they begin to produce it, allowing for a much more effective way (Insulin). However, even with such great opportunities such as the production of insulin, risks are involved. In the case of a type of corn that is commonly known as Bt corn, the genetic modification that was implemented utilizes a toxin derived from otherwise insignificant bacteria. This modification allows the corn to produce the toxin, which is only poisonous to a very select group of insects, and is completely harmless to mammals and other creatures. Now accounting for over thirty-five percent of the corn grown in the United States, Bt corn has dramatic benefits, as spraying with a large amount of pesticide is no longer needed since the plants produce it themselves (Indiana). However, a team from the National Science Foundation investigated streams within a heavily farmed area in Indiana, and found that amount of pollen and plant matter were being carried downstream, and that a type of fly, closely related to the type the corn is designed to kill, was experiencing shorter life spans and less growth. Although the ramifications of a single species are unknown, this

demonstrates that tampering with nature can lead to unexpected outcomes, and that it is possible to have an ecological disaster if organisms are engineered without proper care and attention (Genetically Engineered Corn). However, incidents that would have a highly negative effect are unlikely, with the extensive testing and research that goes on before releasing products. As a testament to the success, and the unlikely event of a calamity, already more than seventy percent of processed foods in the United States contain genetically engineered ingredients, and approximately 90 cents out of every dollar spent at the grocery store is spent of processed foods, meaning that about sixty three cents for every dollar spent is put towards a food item with at least one ingredient that was genetically modified. One of the most common examples of a genetically engineered ingredient is present in almost every cheese: rennet. Before genetic engineering, rennet was procured from the stomach of calves to help separate milk into parts suitable for making cheese. As calves age, they lose the ability to produce rennet (which helps them digest milk) and extracting sufficient quantities of high enough purity become impossible. However, with the modification of genes in a type of fungus, scientists were able to force the fungus Aspergillus niger to produce rennet in an extremely pure form. Also, because the way the fungus produces rennet, it does not need to be killed to harvest it, and becomes much easier to create (Marshall). Another common place food that utilizes advances in genetic engineering is the already mentioned Bt corn. Introduced into the mainstream of farmers in 1996, Bt corn now accounts for about thirty five percent of all corn grown in the United States. Edward Hultquist, a farmer from Wisconsin who cultivates approximately two hundred acres of

corn for private and livestock use, talks about his experiences using Bt corn versus before it was approved by the FDA. There are two types of corn that I plant, one is for the livestock, and the other is for consumption by myself. Both are of the Bt variety, but I grow a relatively insignificant amount of higher grade corn, compared to amount of acreage I devote to livestock grade corn, so I dont keep track of my personal crop yield. The first growing seasons I didnt notice a change in the quality of the corn, or the speed of it growing, but I did notice that it cost me more, so I considered not using it any longer. After the second season, things were looking up, as I had a better than average crop yield, and it offset the loss of the previous year. I didnt want to give complete credit to the new corn though, as yield can differ dramatically, year to year. I did appreciate not having to use one of the pesticides that I normally had to though, as that saved me some money, and made me feel better about my impact on the world around me. The next few years were about the same as the first two, up and down each year, but still averaging out to be slightly better than the average I had deduced from the yield of year prior. The greatest joy to me was that I didnt have to try out any new methods of growing it, I could simply plant it like I normally did, and it grew like it normally did. (Hultquist) The benefits to growers in industrialized countries are great, but the biggest positive effect comes from when it is applied to solve global crises dealing with food shortage. Global hunger is an issue that has plagued the world since the beginnings of mankind. At some points it was due to the fact that people lived in areas where crops could not grow, or they did not have access to enough game, however today we know that there

is a plentiful supply of food, and yet approximately 700 million people cannot afford to feed themselves and their families (Morgan). Most of these people are located in sub-Saharan Africa, where growing conditions are poor, and civil strife has led to economic, political and social setbacks for much of the population. However, the economic downfall is the biggest factor, as poverty is the root of the problem. The only way to get poverty-stricken people access to food is to either produce it so cheaply that they can afford to buy it, which would be ludicrously low prices in the countries growing it, or find a way for the starving people to be able to grow it themselves, and provide themselves with the needed resource. Not only can they provide for themselves, it would also give them another option of occupation in areas that have high concentrations of people not able to find work. This is where genetically engineered crops come into effect. The use of genetically engineered plants allows of varieties of plants to be created that are resistant to drought, can endure higher temperature, are bug and disease resistant, and can deliver higher nutritional content than normal. Crops native to sub-Saharan Africa are low in nutritional value, and often contain harmful side effects when eaten for extensive periods of time. One such plant, the cassava, is one of the main food sources for many Africans. The cassava is much like a potato plant: it has a small stem, and large tubers grow beneath the soil that are high in starch. It has already adapted by natural selection to the harsh climate of Africa, and seems like a godsend for the starving population. However, due to a disease called the Mosaic Virus, which, in the late 1980s, transformed into a much more devastating virus, almost fifty percent of crops have been wiped out in the affected areas, spanning nine countries, and the area the pandemic affects continues to grow (Hand). Also, some varieties contain trace amount of a compound that when digested breaks down into cyanide. Disease resistant

varieties have already been created, but some that were genetically engineered using recombinant DNA technology have partially reverted to before they were altered, and others, grown using tradition methods of plant breeding, are not completely immune to the virus (Hand). As verification that the process can be successful in inoculating a species, the papaya industry is often used as an example. On the archipelago of Hawaii, ringspot virus threatened to eradicate the papaya industry, once it had reached the main growing fields, papaya yields were cut down by fifty percent. The United States Department of Agriculture initiated a research team to find a genetically resistant strain of papaya, and then proceeded to distribute the seeds to the desperate farmers, who now, thanks to the impervious papaya trees, are back to full production. With a child dying every five seconds due to hunger related causes, the reasons to help are there, but the support is not. Genetically engineered food already represents a huge portion of the food consumed in the United States, combined with further social acceptance, and increased research, genetic engineering can have benefits reaching far beyond the table. Already demonstrated repeatedly in the field, it appears only crises can bring the world to the realization of the tremendous benefits that genetic engineering has to offer. The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Works Cited BBC. "Insulin." Education Scotland. 14 Oct. 2008. 14 Oct. 2008 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize/standard/biology/biotechnol ogy/reprogramming_microbes_rev3.shtml>. Bren, Linda. "Genetic Engineering: The Future of Foods?" U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Nov.-Dec. 2003. 17 Sept. 2008 <http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2003/603_food.html>. "DNA Recombinant." Chart. Genetic Engineering. 14 Oct. 2008. BBC. 14 Oct. 2008 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize/standard/biology/biotechnol ogy/reprogramming_microbes_rev2.shtml>. Genetically Engineered Corn May Harm Stream Ecosystems. United States. National Science Foundation. SIRS Government Reporter. SIRS Knowledge Source. 14 Oct. 2008. Hand, Eric. "Feeding Africa: A St. Louis Team Fights a Crop Killer." St. Louis Post-Dispatch 10 Dec. 2003: A1+. SIRS Researcher. ProQuest. Hultquist, Edward. "How Bt Corn Affects Yields." Telephone interview. 30 Sept. 2008.
"Hunger Facts: International." Bread For The World. 27 Aug. 2008. 10 Oct. 2008 <http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-basics/hunger-facts-international.html>.

Indiana University. "Genetically Engineered Corn Could Harm Aquatic Ecosystems." ScienceDaily 10 October 2007. 15 October 2008 <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071008171030.htm>.

Koerner, Brendan. "How Much of Our Food Is Bioengineered?" Slate. 22 May 2003. 14 Oct. 2008 <http://www.slate.com/id/2083482/>. Lambrecht, Bill. Dinner at the New Gene Cafe : How Genetic Engineering Is Changing What We Eat, How We Live, and the Global Politics of Food. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2001. Marshall, Elizabeth L. High-Tech Harvest : A Look at Genetically Engineered Foods. NEW YORK: Franklin Watts, 1999. Miller, Henry, and Gregory Conko. "Agricultural Biotechnology: Overregulated and Underappreciated." Issues in Science and Technology Vol. XXI No. 2 Winter 2005: 76-80. SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source. 14 Oct. 2008. Morgan, Sally, and Mike Allaby. "Chapter 6.1: Feeding the World." The New Encyclopedia of Science: Ecology and Environment. Oxford UP, 2003. SIRS Researcher. ProQuest.