Bio Effects Version

8/12/2019 Bio Effects Version

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BY:- (IX-D)Pratham Gupta

Aham Aggarwal Aakarshan Rakesh

Paaraj VohraTanmay Kumar


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The main aim of Genetically Modified Crops is to create a food that is able to survive even ifany harmful chemicals or pesticides or herbicides are sprayed. Another purpose of geneticallymodified crops is to make food stay fresh for a long time.Gene technology is a type of modern biotechnology that makes use of living things to make orchange product. Some of genetically modified crops and food are corn, tomato, beets,potatoes, sprouts, rice, wheat, meat, poultry, Processed Foods like Convenience Foods,

Condiments, Salad Dressings, Juice, Soda, Vitamins, Chocolate including many frozen meals,heat and serve meals.

The Genetically Modified Crops are the foodsthat have a gene extracted from a living thingand placed in a different food by a scientist or

an expert.A gene is a code that governs how we appearand what characteristics we have. Genes decidethe color of flowers, and how tall a plant cangrow. The characteristics of a plant will betransferred to its children the plant seeds,which grow into new plants. When a scientistgenetically modifies a plant, they insert aforeign gene in the plant's own genes. Theresult is that the plant receives thecharacteristics held within the genetic code.


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How to add a fish gene to a tomato

Scientists have created a frost resistant tomato plant by adding an antifreeze gene from acoldwater fish to it. The antifreeze gene comes from the coldwater flounder, a fish that cansurvive in very cold conditions. This is how it was done.

1. The flounder has a gene to make an antifreeze chemical. This is removed from thechromosomes within a flounder cell.

2. The antifreeze DNA is joined onto a piece of DNA called a plasmid. This hybrid DNA,which is a combination of DNA from 2 different sources, is known as recombinant DNA.

3. The recombinant DNA, including the antifreeze gene, is placed in a bacterium.


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1. Increased economic profits for the farmer2. Lower prices for the consumer3. Reduced dependence on chemical fertilizers and insecticides

4. Potentially decreased environmental restriction5. Potentially increased nutritional benefit6. Less pesticide is needed to be used due to insect pest resistant plants.7. More economically friendly as pesticides do not go into the air, soil, and water

(especially freshwater supplies). Their production hazards to the environment alsodecreases.

8. Farmers have more income, which they could spend on such things as, for example, theeducation of their children.

9. Less starvation in the world due to decreased food prices.10. More nutritious. This has been proven and tested many times.11. Rigorous testing of ALL GMO crops and products. This makes GMOs much safer than

organic (the traditional) crops.12. Scientific development of agriculture, health and related sciences due to the better

understanding of the products. For example, the development of new medicines.13. Creation of super foods due to better knowledge. Super foods are types of food that

are cheap to produce, grow fast in large quantities, highly nutritious.14. Reduction of sicknesses and illnesses, as GMO crops are more nutritious. Vitamins and

minerals can be provided to children and to people, where they were inaccessiblebefore (i.e.: the worlds poorest and/or most secluded areas).


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15. Developments of new kinds of crops that can be grown at extreme climates, like, dry orfreezing environments (deserts).

16. As more crops (plants) can be grown and at more places, this decreases global warmingthrough the increase of oxygen in the environment, decreasing the proportion ofcarbon dioxide. GM crops have also made significant contribution to reducinggreenhouse gas emissions by over 10 million tonnes. This is equivalent to removing fivemillion cars from the road every year.

17. Enhancement of the taste and quality of food.18. Beside humans, livestock and animals are also beneficiaries to the higher nutritious

value of GMO crops. They have an increased resistance and productivity.19. Beside humans, livestock and animals are also beneficiaries to the higher nutritious

value of GMO crops. They have an increased resistance and productivity.20. Higher resistance to diseases. Less processing needed in factories. Less factory additives

needed.21. GMO crops last longer. This decreases the amount of wasted crops and foods.22. Less machinery requirements.

23. Reduced usage of pesticides and herbicides24. Allows a much wider selection of traits for improvement: e.g. not only pest, disease andherbicide resistance (as achieved to date in plants) but also potentially droughtresistance, improved nutritional content and improved sensory properties.

25. Desired change can be achieved in very few generations.26. Reduces risk of random occurrence of undesirable traits.

27. Prevention of loss of species due to endemic disease.


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Effects on Animals

1. Changing plants may have lasting effects on other organisms in the ecosystem. Thechange in a plant may cause it to be toxic to an insect or animal that uses it as its main

food source.2. Breeding and cross pollination across unintended species could occur resulting inthings such as insect resistant weeds.

3. Pests may develop resistance to GM crops that have been designed to kill them.4. GM crops may cause harm to the wealth and welfare of animals.5. Eradication of weeds will have a chain reaction through food chain.


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Scientists have always been intrigued by the tomato.It is the only fruit that is treated like a vegetable andthat has many nutritional benefits when eaten.To enhance the goodness of tomatoes, scientistshave been trying with the idea of making geneticallymodified tomatoes for many years. It was finally in1994 that the first variety of GM tomatoes weremade. This was known as the Flavr Savr. These werethe transgenic tomatoes made by deactivating aparticular gene in them.

The tomato was the first commercially grown geneticallymodified food crop, which was made more resistant to rotting

by Californian company Calgene. The tomatoes were releasedinto the market in 1994 without any special labeling.In February 1996, J. Sainsbury and Safeway Stores in theUnited Kingdom introduced Europe's first genetically-modifiedfood product. A variant of the Flavr Savr was used to producetomato puree which was sold in Europe during the summer of1996 and was big success.


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How are Tomatoes Modified?

1) Every cell wall of a plant contains a complex carbohydrate known as Pectin. It helps theplant to be firm and strong as well as help the flow of water in and out of the cell

walls. It is because pectin is found in tomatoes and that is what makes the tomatoes toripen and become softer or basically lose its freshness normally. An enzymecalled Polygalacturonase triggers Pectin to do this.

2) In the tomato a particular gene is "deactivated" by a process called Antisense

approach in which a reverse copy (an antisense gene) is transmitted into the plantgenome. The production of the enzyme(involved in fruit softening) polygalacturonaseis suppressed, retarding fruit softening after the harvest. The tomatoes could also beleft to ripen on the vine and still have a long shelf life, thus allowing them to developtheir full flavor. Normally, tomatoes are picked well before they are ripe and are thenripened artificially.


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On October 30, 2008 a team of scientists from

the UK and other European countries createda genetically modified purple tomato, thatcould fight some cancers cardiovasculardisease, age-related degenerativediseases, diabetes, obesity and otherillnesses. Scientists took genes from the

snapdragon plant (Antirrhinum), insertedthem into tomato plants and grew purpletomatoes high in anthocyanins, pigments thatoccur naturally at high levels in berry fruitssuch as the blackberry, cranberry andblueberry. There is evidence thatanthocyanins protect against some cancers,cardiovascular disease, age-relateddegenerative diseases, diabetes, obesity andother illnesses.


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Golden rice is a strain of rice created in 1999 through genetic engineering. The rice wascreated by Ingo Potrykus of the Institute of Plant Sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of

Technology, working with Peter Beyer of the University of Freiburg. The work was primarilyfunded by the Rockefeller Foundation and took eight years to complete. It was made byinserting daffodil genes for producing beta-carotene into the rice genome. It has beengenetically modified with increased amounts of beta carotene which gives it a orangeyellow color, hence the name Golden Rice. Once in the body, the beta carotene is thenconverted into Vitamin A. Golden Rice has been proposed to help millions of children in

the world who suffer from blindness due to vitamin A deficiencies.In 2005, a team of researchers at biotechnologycompany, Syngenta, produced a variety of goldenrice called "Golden Rice 2" which has 23 timesmore beta-carotene than Golden Rice. They claim

just a 144g serving is enough to achieve theVitamin A recommended daily intake. In June 2005,researcher Peter Beyer received funding fromthe Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to furtherimprove golden rice by increasing the levels of orthe bioavailability of pro-vitamin A, vitamin E, iron,and zinc, and to improve protein qualitythrough genetic modification.


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Increased Yields As rice production needs to double in the next 40 years, increased yields willdefinitely help achieve this outcome. A new strain developed by the IRRI, dubbed the"Super Rice", can produce yields of 12.5 tons per hectare. The grains of each panicleis 2 to 3 times greater than normal rice, and it has sturdier stems which are thicker toprevent the rice from toppling over.

Climate Change Resistance Climate change is bringing an increase of floods and droughts, which destroy wholeareas of crops. A strain of GM Rice has been developed by the IRRI to be resistant toflooding, and it can survive flooded conditions for up to 2 weeks. Another strain of ricebeing developed by the IRRI is one that can survive a lack of water.

Disease/Pest Resistance Strains of GM Rice have been injected withgenes producing toxins that are fatal to certainpests. Other strains of GM Rice have beeninserted with genes that prevent the cropbeing overcome by certain diseases.


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Enhanced Nutrition GM rice can have added vitamins and minerals, to helpwith the world's malnutrition and vitamin/mineraldeficiencies problems. The most well knowngenetically modified rice that has enhanced nutrition isGolden Rice. It has been genetically modified withincreased amounts of beta carotene which gives it aorange yellow color, hence the name Golden Rice.Once in the body, the beta carotene is then convertedinto Vitamin A. Golden Rice has been proposed to helpmillions of children in the world who suffer fromblindness due to vitamin A deficiencies.


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Excess intake of Vitamins/Minerals Since rice can be implemented with

added vitamins and minerals, it ispossible for people who eat a lot ofrice to have an excess intake ofvitamins and minerals. One exampleis that if GM Rice has had Vitamin Ainto it, and a person intakes too muchVitamin A from eating this rice as wellas other foods and vitaminsupplements, they may suffer fromhypervitaminosis (Vitamin A toxicity).

Environmental Impact

This is the biggest and most important risk associated with GM Rice. There is also the riskof GM rice which has increased nutrition or are insect/pest/disease resistant and theiraffect on other organisms and the ecosystem. Insects, pests and diseases that the GM Riceis resistant to can have mutations which then cause these organisms to become resistantto these GM Rice. It is also possible for these insects and pests to die out, causing a hugedisruption in the food chain and ecosystem of that area. GM rice with increased nutrition

can also have effects on organisms that consume the crop.

Health Risks The affects of GM Rice via

human consumption are stillrelatively unknown. Toxinsand proteins produced GMRice may have unknown sideeffects if consumed over longperiods of time. Also GM Ricestrains that are unapprovedfor human consumption canpotentially be leaked andenter the global food chain.


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The following goals need to be met and their related challenges overcome tomake genetic modification of crops effective at global level :-

1. Agricultural biotechnology must be made affordable to developing world farmers.

Unless this condition is met, farmers may not see that it is in their best interest to useGM crops, despite the significant benefits those crops could provide.

2. There is a need for larger investments in research in the public sector.Numerous studies have shown the importance of public sector R&D to agriculturalAdvancements.

3. To garner the level of public interest and support that can sustain an agriculturalrevolution, agricultural development must be regarded as being critically importantfrom a policy perspective, in both donor and recipient nations.

4. Policymakers in the developing world must set regulatory standards that take intoconsideration the risks as well as the benefits of foods derived from GM crops. Thisgoal is crucial to the cooperation of the many stakeholders that are affected by GMcrops and also for the sustainability of the GM crop movement in the foreseeablefuture.


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ConclusionGenetically-modified foods have the potential to solve many of the world's hungerand malnutrition problems, and to help protect and preserve the environment byincreasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. Yetthere are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safetytesting, regulation, international policy and food labeling. Many people feel thatgenetic engineering is the inevitable wave of the future and that we cannot afford toignore a technology that has such enormous potential benefits. However, we mustproceed with caution to avoid causing unintended harm to human health and theenvironment as a result of our enthusiasm for this powerful technology.

% of GM crop growtharea


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