Genetically Modified (Gm) Foods Essay Example for Free

Genetically Modified (Gm) Foods Essay The Term Genetically Modified (GM) foods refers to crops produced for human or animal consumption using the recombinant DNA techniques. The world population is growing in a fast pace such that it is expected to double in the next 50 years. Supplying food to this growing population is a major challenge. GM foods can be considered as the major solution for the food security. These foods are produced by the modification of crop plants in the laboratory to enhance desired traits, mainly biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, improved nutritional content, etc. These traits were earlier carried out through conventional plant breeding, but these breeding methods are very time-consuming and often not very accurate. However, with recombinant DNA technology, plants with the desired traits can be produced, very rapidly and with greater accuracy. Process Recombinant DNA technology begins with the identification and isolation of a gene which expresses a desirable trait, with the aid of restriction enzymes. Then a recipient plant or animal is selected, and the gene is inserted and incorporated into its genome through a vector such as agrobacterium, through a gene gun shooting an elemental particle covered in plasmid DNA, electro oration, or a virus. Once part of the recipient, the newly inserted gene becomes part of the genome of the recipient and is regulated in the same way as its other genes. For example, we can isolate a gene responsible for conferring drought tolerance, introduce that gene into a plant, and make it drought tolerant. Crops can also be transformed using non-plant genes such as the use of Bt genes, in cotton and many other crops. Bt, or Bacillus thuringiensis, is a naturally occurring bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are lethal only to insect larvae. Bt crystal protein genes have been transferred into cotton, soya, corn, brinjal, enabling the plants to produce its own pesticides against insects such as the American bollworm, European corn borer. Bt genes are lethal only in the acidic medium, insect gut environment and do not get activated in an alkaline environment, prevalent in humans and other animals that feed on these plants. BENEFITS OF GM FOODS Drought tolerance/salinity tolerance: As the world population grows and more land is converted for housing instead of food production, farmers need to grow crops in non-arable land, previously unsuited for plant cultivation. Creating plants that can withstand long periods of drought or high salinity in soil and groundwater will help people to grow crops in large, barren wetlands/dry lands in our country. Pest resistance: Insect Pests are causing devastating financial loss for farmers, sometimes starvation. Indiscriminate use of pesticides is also a potential health hazard, and the run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers poisons the water supply and harms the environment. Ex: Growing GM foods such as Bt brinjal helps reduce the application of pesticides substantially, as 80 per cent of brinjal crop are infested with pests. Disease resistance: There are many viruses, fungi and bacteria that cause plant diseases and thereby contribute to yield loss. Plant biologists are working to create genetically engineered plants with resistance to these diseases. Ex: Developing sheath blight resistance in rice. Cold/heat tolerance: Farmers are facing the vagaries of weather, like unexpected frost or excess heat due to climate change. Researchers have identified an antifreeze gene from cold-water fish and introduced it into plants such as tobacco and potato to study the efficacy of the plant to withstand extreme temperatures. Also, research is on to identify plants that can survive excess heat, submergence tolerance etc. Nutrition: People in our country suffer from various nutrient deficiency diseases due to malnutrition. Most of the people rely on rice as a major staple food. But rice does not contain adequate amounts of all necessary micro and macronutrients. If rice could be genetically engineered to contain additional vitamins, iron and/or minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. For example, MSSRF (M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation) are working on improving the iron content. Phytoremediation: Soil and groundwater pollution continues to be a problem in many parts of the world. Plants such as poplar trees, brassica spp are being genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from soil contaminated with metals like lead, arsenic, and cadmium. Concerns Most concerns about GM foods fall into three categories Environmental hazards: Unintended harm to other organisms; reduced effectiveness of pesticides; gene transfer to non-target species are some of the concerns of the environmental concerns of GM crops. Human health risks: Allergenecity, unknown effects on human health are some of the main health concerns. For example, Pioneer Hi-Bred tested the allergenicity of a transgenic soybean that expressed a Brazil nut seed storage protein in hope that the seeds would have increased levels of the amino acid methionine. The tests (radio allergosorbent testing, immunoblotting, and skin-prick testing) showed that individuals allergic to Brazil nuts were also allergic to the new GM soybean. Economic concerns Environmental activists, religious organizations, non-governmental organizations have criticized agribusiness for concentrating on profits through GM Foods without concern for potential hazards. They also criticized the government for failing to start a regulatory body. All GM crops should be subjected to thorough regulatory processes and toxicology and allergenicity tests data needs to be shared with the regulatory authorities prior to commercialization. Government Role Many new plant genetic engineering technologies and GM plants have been patented, and patent infringement is a big concern of agribusiness. So, bringing GM food to market is a lengthy and costly process. This is a genuine concern and therefore it is important for the government to fund and support public sector research in reputed universities or agriculture institutes to ensure quality research and also keep prices under check. Conclusion Government should check all the hazards, environmental, health and economic concerns and then decisions should be taken to commercialize a GM product. Though ambiguity during the process, once they get regulatory approve, it implies that they have been subjected to stringent scrutiny and are safe for commercial release. So, the governments around the world are hard at work to establish an effective regulatory process to monitor the effects of and approve new varieties of GM plants. According to M S Swaminathan, the chairman of the National Commission on Farmers, GM foods have the potential to solve many of the worlds hunger and malnutrition problems, and can protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides. Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labeling.

Personal Narrative- The Admirable Villain :: Personal Narrative Writing

Personal Narrative- The Admirable Villain Days of Our Lives isn’t the same without Stefano DiMera. He was the puppet master, the vile wire that tied the colorful characters of Salem together. He was the one who erased John Black’s memories, hypnotized Dr. Marlena Evans into being his love slave (leaving her vulnerable for possession by the Devil), convinced Hope that she was Princess Gina, swapped Hope’s baby with a fetal-alcoholic crack baby, and convinced John that he was the father. For the past few months, Stefano has been â€Å"out of town,† and Days has degenerated into every other soap opera: a dreary, never-ending cycle of sex, secrets, and heartbreaks. Norman Osborn disappeared on me in a similar fashion. His hatred was focused on one man, Peter Parker, also known as the Amazing Spider-Man. He murdered Peter’s first girlfriend, convinced Peter that he was a clone, and replaced his Aunt May with a dying actress. I loved Osborn so much that I bought a year’s subscription to Spidey comics, but in typical Marvel bait-and-switch fashion, Osborn was driven insane by a mystical ceremony and abducted by the Scriers in the next two issues. He resurfaced two years later, but I had lost interest in Spider-Man by then. For each of these villains there was a hero who tried to take him down. Days had Abe Carver and Spider-Man had, well, Spider-Man. The hero couldn’t simply break in the into the bad guy’s penthouse apartment and smack him around until he agreed to be good. The master manipulator would have wiped the blood from his nose and said, â€Å"I always knew you were a savage. Just like me.† Instead, the hero had to bite his lip and wiggle a solution through the criminal justice system. Elsewhere, deep in the shadows, the villain laughed, taunting the hero for his impotence. Although I sympathized with the hero, it was the villain I truly admired. He never questioned his own actions. He never got lonely or despaired. He didn’t care if he broke anyone’s heart or stomped on anyone’s feelings. All he cared about was his master plan and would stop at nothing until that plan was carried out. He didn’t have to avoid the hero’s moral pitfalls because, in his own mind, everything he did was right. He got everything he wanted. He was gratified by everything he got. He was satisfied with his lot in life and never sought to change.

Teen Obesity

When I was a teenager I faced obesity myself. Going through high school was the hardest thing ever. I weighed over two hundred pounds and I was constantly getting bullied and made fun of. When I was at home all I did sit around watch TV, play video games, and eat constantly. I never thought of going outside and doing physical fitness. Well one day I was lying in my bed and I was thinking about what I was doing to myself and how one day I could possibly not be here anymore if I keep doing what I am doing. My senior year of high school was a big change in my life. I lost over seventy pounds and I felt great about myself. Teenage obesity is getting worse over the years in America. The growth rates of teen obesity increasing are stunning. The reasons why teens are becoming obese are because of less activity or inactivity, excess TV watching, and fast food restaurants. First cause of teen obesity is less activity or inactivity of teenagers. Teenagers are more likely to become obese if they do not perform any activity at all or they are not doing enough activity to burn off calories and carbohydrates that cause fat build up in the body. Many television studies show that teenagers who have television sets in their bedrooms tend to watch TV more which can lead to inactivity†. (Teenage Obesity pg. 1) In order to prevent teens from becoming obese they must stay involved in some type of activity like sports, running, walking, bike riding, swimming, and etc†¦ these activities must be done every day or at least five times a week. Also parents can be a big cause of teen obesity. The reason why is because lots of parents don’t care about their children doing activities. If parents were raised doing whatever they wanted to do then more than likely their children are going to be raised the same way. Some parents are suffering from obesity themselves so this shows that their children are looking at their parents as being lazy and the children think they can do the same thing which leads the children to inactivity. Second cause of teen obesity is excess TV watching. TV watching is the main cause of teen obesity. The reason being is because teens tend to get addicted to TV shows and video games which leads them to become couch potato’s. Couch potato’s are caused by teens who sit, immobile, watching a screen instead of playing sports. A second view ties TV watching to eating, either through a barrage of ads or because teens snack while watching†. (ScienceDaily Pg. 1) â€Å"25% shows that television watching causes teens to snack largely on junk food because of food commercials that intimidate teens†. (ScienceDaily Pg. 1) Teen agers that sit on the couch and watch TV for excess amounts of hours causes the body to build up excess fat because there is nothing being burned off. Not only is TV causing teens to be overweight but video games are another big factor in teen obesity. â€Å"Children with higher weight status spent moderate amounts of time playing electronic video games†. (ScienceDaily Pg. 1) Video games become so addicting to teens that right when they get home from school they head straight to the couch to play. This causes teens to become lazy and obese. Final cause of teen obesity is Fast food restaurants. Fast food restaurants are a leading cause to teenage obesity. The reason why is because teens have no clue what they are ordering or if what they are eating is healthy for you or not. Also lots of teens are lazy to eat something from home, so they head out to a fast food restaurant where they can eat a lot of food for cheap money. Parents are a big reason for this because when parents have to work during the day they get tired and when they get home there too lazy to cook anything for their children so they take them out to dinner for fast food because again it’s cheap. Fast food contains high saturated fats and calories. Fast foods are packed with high amounts of sugar, carbohydrates, oil etc. Even small amount of fast food can increase your calorie intake considerably. †(YgoY Pg. 1) All of these lead to obesity. Another reason that fast food causes teens to be obese is because it is very addicting. It’s addicting because of the taste, advertisements, and it’s cheap to buy. â€Å"According to research, teenagers who eat fast food two times a week their obesity risk increases by 50%†. YgoY Pg. 1) Fast food eating leads teens from eating fruits and vegetables because of the addiction to the taste of fast food which cause obesity to rise in teens. In conclusion teen obesity is rising every year in America. The only way to stop this from rising is on the parents and on how they should raise their kids and to show them the right way not the wrong. I main causes of teen obesity are inactivity or less activity, excess TV watching, and fast food restaurants.

Pc Gaming Vs. Desktop Gaming - 1211 Words

Even though it is physically bad for the viewers eyes, PC Gaming could be a very easy way of making money because one can join PC sport teams and battle against enemy teams to win the end prize. Virtual gaming provides a lot of social interaction, and provides many opportunities to give help to well-known game developers by testing their newly developed games to try and see if there are any flaws in the game. If you find any problems in the game then you can can report the issues by emailing the game maker. PC gaming is one of the fastest growing industries around. Pc Gaming could be a very easy way to make money because one can join a PC sport teams and battle against enemy teams to win the end prize, Oneself can also livestream on Twitch.tv to get veiwers and donations from the veiwers, and start game testing for game developers. PC Gaming can be a money maker from joining teams for a certain game to join and win tournaments. PC gaming can give you a major opportunity to make the big bucks, Playing for teams on certain games can get you into gaming tournaments. Win a tournament and one can make a buttload of money just for winning. Even if you lose the tournament, the players still get some sort of prize. Penny Arcade X (PAX) is also filled with other markers of â€Å"game culture.† There are nightly concerts by musicians inspired by games. PAX has many events that are part of the amazing convention. They have console freeplay, exhibit hall, handheld lounge, omegathon,Show MoreRelatedEssay about Mac vs Pc888 Words   |  4 PagesMac vs. PC: The Everlasting Debate In the world of computers, the choice of systems can be a complicated one. There are two competitors out there, PCs and Macs. Everyone has their own opinion on which is better, and there are many die-hard fans in each camp. 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