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So what is genetic engineering?

According to the author, he/she is trying to inform to the reader what GMOs are, and how they affect us. They are trying  to list the negative things about GMOs, for instance, all of the bacteria and viruses they may contain.

GMOs and Engineered Foods

According to the text, the author informs the reader about the situations GMOs have caused, and the background history of GMOs. He/she explains charts to the reader explaining how GMOs were in the 1998 when they were first seen by the world, to today, the arguments they have caused, and the type of things they were put in. For example, salmon, vegetables, or even animals.

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GMOs and engineered foods:
https://newsela.com/read/overview-gmos-engineered-food/id/20955/
Genetic Engineering:
http://tiki.oneworld.org/genetics/GE6.html
The battle over GMOs article
Newsela

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-----NOT MY VIEWS ON GMOS-----
Why do we need GMO's?

Source: the debate over genetically modified organisms

We need GMO's because there are plants that are getting infected with diseases. Farmers need to use GMO's in the plants to stop them from dying and hurting us. They also need to put item in herds to make some medications to cure infectious diseases. GMO's will also help the world’s hunger problem. We can put GMO's into foods to help them grow bigger and more plentiful to feed the hungry. Finally, GMO's can make foods that are hypoallergenic.

Summary:

The author shares that some people are concerned about GMO's and think they are unsafe to our bodies, while others, believe GMO’s may solve many problems. People like GMO's because they can resist diseases and they have better quality; health wise and taste wise. People who dislike GMO's say they have environmental and health risks. They say that monarch butterflies have already been affected.

Central idea:

The central idea is that some people think GMO's are bad and unsafe while other think they can solve the world's problems.

EXTRA: Debate about GMOS with Monsanto CEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ9YdDsGCVg

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When, Why, And How?

Source: flavor saver tomato

The first GMO's were used because the tomatoes were rotting and unhealthy . The biggest problem the tomato farmers faced was the loss of profits. Tomatoes looked inedible, discolored and wilted. A small company full of gene jockeys came called Calgene. They made a new product. A product that people liked. Their product helped tomatoes look better and taste a lot better. They called their new tomato the "Flavr Savr Tomato". Everyone loved the Flavr Savr and were not concerned about the GMO’s that help create the new tomato. This tomato improved by shutting off the gene that made the tomato squishy. Now it could stay hard for 30 days without being refrigerated! Not just 30 days! Even more than that! It wasn’t until the gene jockeys sold their company to Mostanto that the public started protesting. The new company refused to label the products and that started all the commotion and hating.

Summary:

Back in the 1980’s and 1990’s, there was a tomato that everyone loved. It was not rotten and it remained fresh for 30 days without refrigeration! What super tomato was this? This tomato was called the Flavr Savr Tomato. It was medias favorite and the population. The company was called Calgene. They shut off the gene that makes the tomato squishy. This was the first GMO product with great success. It was even approved by the FDA. The one problem Calgene had to face was that they were not tomato farmers, they were just gene jockeys. They had to sell the company to Mastanto. This new company refused to label the tomatoes and people started questioning these tomatoes. People started protesting. Now 93% of soybeans and 88% of corn is genetically modified. The public no longer supports Mostanto. From the popular Flavr Savr Tomato to the many modified products today, the public's minds have changed.

Central Idea: The central idea is that back then, there was this super tomato that was so popular but now everyone is protesting because the new company refused to label.

PICTURE OF FS TOMATO
IS THIS TOMATO TO GOOD TO BE TRUE?????

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A crazy question- can GMO's help us?

Source: my brain and  https://newrepublic.com/article/135617/GMO's-save-lifethey-might-already

I think we can. An idea is that we can cure genetic diseases by activating or shutting off a gene as they did in the "Flavr Savr Tomato" If we shut off a gene that causes a disease like Alzheimer's, then we can turn off the disease instead of curing it. If we shut off the gene that causes certain diseases, those diseases will not cause so much harm. It may not be a cure but is a great solution to helping people from their sufferings.

Another way we can use GMO's for our health is to put them in vaccines. How hard is it to grow these medicines? What happens if there is an outbreak of the disease? What if the plant can’t grow because of the environment? Well GMO's can fix all those needy questions. They can make the plant rely on less water growing bigger and faster. They use tools to manufacture the plant so it can grow better, so the scientists can dissect the dna of the virus, and they can make vaccines for these infectious diseases. We need these GMO's to stop the diseases before they spread through the world.

Summary:

The author teaches us that GMO's will help stop pandemics. For instance, the plants that make the medicines need to grow faster and bigger. There is a super infectious disease that has caused many pandemics. This disease is called Zika. There are also lots of other diseases like ebola. These diseases all come from 3rd world countries that can’t afford better shelter, food, and doctors. Africa is the main one. In Africa, 5500 children under 5 die each day. GMO's can help rapidly produce food. They can make plants rely less on water especially in places with drought like Africa. GMO’s can help cure world hunger and help produce vaccines to prevent infections.

PICTURE OF VIRUS

Central idea:  The central idea is that GMO's might stop pandemics.

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What is a gene?

Source:https://newsela.com/read/lib-convo-what-is-a-gene/id/27954/quiz/1/

A gene is a basic physical and functional unit of heritage. It tells you what your like on the inside and outside. It tells you if you have brown eyes or blue eyes. You inherit these characteristics from your parents gene combined.

Summary:

The author teaches us that genes help you inherit certain characteristics. For example, gregor mendel had been the first to experiment with genetics and he had seen that certain characteristics were inherited. Another example is that genes carry the code for certain characteristics. Finally, the author stated that genes are stretches of dna that might create a tool or characteristic such as a red color in a pea flower.

PICTURE OF GENE

Central idea: The central idea is that genes help you inherit certain characteristics.

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EXTRAS

-GMO OMG

This a movie about gmos overpopulating the planet. Is is bad?
-https://monsanto.com/
Mostanto's company website
-https://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/genetically-modify-food
This is a debate over GMOs
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Today I will be arguing against and giving my opinion on two scholarly articles about GMOs. I hope you side with me, as I am trying to put as little bias as possible into this. I will start with Public Views on GMOs: Deconstructing the Myths, by Claire Marris, published on July 1st, 2001. During the introduction Claire talks about her research which does sound credible, which is a good start. Myth 1 is “The public is ‘for’ or ‘against’ GMOs”. I agree with this heavily, as the public is very large, and people can’t just assume the opinions of 7 billion people, it’s just quite unreasonable. She cites some PABE research about how the public isn’t mainly for or against GMOs, they’re actually just asking necessary questions to know whether or not they’re good. Some of the questions PABE received were: Why do we need GMOs? Who will benefit from their use? Who decided that they should be developed and how? Why were we not better informed about their use in our food, before their arrival on the market? Why are we not given an effective choice about whether or not to buy these products? Have potential long‐term and irreversible consequences been seriously evaluated, and by whom? Do regulatory authorities have sufficient powers to effectively regulate large companies who wish to develop these products? Can controls imposed by regulatory authorities be applied effectively? Who will be accountable in cases of unforeseen harm? Most of these are questions I, a pro-GMO person has asked before. The fact that none of these have a negative tone proves that the public is not against or for GMOs, they just want to know the reason for them. Myth 2 is about the public being unscientific. I do not know what Marris was aiming for with this, but her research proves the public is, in fact, uneducated.

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Source: Newsela

In the 1900's, breeders exposed crops to radiation and chemicals that caused them to mutate. A mutation is a change in crop's genes. Mutations has given fruits and vegetables new colors and made crops disease resistant. Most grains, vegetables, and fruits are descendants of mutant varieties.  In the early 1980's, scientists discovered how to add genes from other species into plants. This led to the 1994 release of the first GMO sold to the public; the "Flavr Savr Tomato." It was weak tasting and was pulled from the market.

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1. Mutation - a change in the crop's genes.
2. Frankenfish - genetically modified to grow faster than farm-raised Atlantic salmon so they can get to consumers faster.
3. Polio - a crippling and potentially deadly infectious disease.
4. Nitrogen Fertilizers - most common categories of fertilizers produced out of nitrogen (N) chemical combinations. To be considered as an organic fertilizer, the plant nutrient must contain 5% minimum of nitrogen.
5. Nitrous Oxide - a colorless gas with a sweetish odor, prepared by heating ammonium nitrate.
6. Milkweed - a herbaceous American plant with milky sap.
7. Decimated - to assassinate, destroy, or remove a large percentage or part of something.
8. Insecticides - a substance used for killing insects.

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So for my part I will be telling you about some examples of G.M.O's.
#1 Potato's
In 2014 the USDA approved the genetically mortified potato and then in 2015 the FDA approved as well. This  kind of potato can resist disease and.. fun fact! A disease hit Ireland from 1845-1849 ruining all of the potato crops. This "disease" is called "Late bight disease".
#2 Salmon
In 1994 AquaBounty's new genetically mortified salmon was approved to be sold. It was also a big milestone for all G.M.O. industries, because G.M.O. salmon was the first G.M.O. animal to be genetically mortified. The salmon that is genetically mortified is more pink, bigger and has more taste.
#3 Pet-sized pigs
Sadly I can't find when this type of pig was made, but I do know that BGI, a Chinese company made these pet-sized pigs that stay like that forever. You can even buy one one right now for $1,600, if you were in China. (Sorry for crushing your dreams)
#4 Tomato's
I know in class we have already seen a video about the "Flavor Saving Tomato" but... listen to me anyway. A Californian company called Calgene made "better tomato's" in 1994. These tomato's are bigger, more red, sweeter, and stay non-wrinkly for longer. They also resits pests and some diseases.
#5 Grape that tastes like cotton candy
In 2013, David Cain made the very first cotton-candy flavored grape. David's strategy for selling these grapes is, and I quote "Once they get hooked, they want more no matter what.” A normal grape can be as cheep as 88 cents per pound but this "cotton candy grape" could go for 6 dollars per pound! In my opinion it's not worth it.

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Source: Newsela

GMO's contain genes pinched from something else like bacteria, viruses, and even other plants or animals. By snipping a gene which does something useful from one organism and transferring it to another, scientists can get the plant to grow bigger or faster or make more for people to eat. Another theory, the plant could be made to be more nutritious with more protein or minerals or vitamins. Some crop plants can be made to grow in salty water or very little water, which is good for dry countries. Others could be engineered to resist diseases which could protect kids against nasty illnesses like polio or measles.

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Source: GMOs and engineered foods

Genetic engineering is building something with genes. Scientists have found out that simple organisms like bacteria or viruses often have genes which are useful because they can be taken out and be put into plant genes. Doing this could give the plant special abilities like resisting disease. In the 1980's, scientist discovered how to insert genes from other spices into plants. Once the first GMO meat was approved for sale in the US, Aqua Bounty Technologies' salmon was engineered to grow twice as fast as regular salmon. Supporters of GMO's point to a scientific agreement that GMO's pose as no more of a risk then other crops. Consumers remain cautious not only of GMO's them self, but also of their central place in industrial agriculture.

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A recent New York Times poll found 93 percent of Americans want GMOs labeled. Already, 64 nations require such labels. But there are many pros and cons to labeling

Pros:
Right to know: Consumers have the right to know what's in their food. And if a consumer is concerned about GM ingredients, found in food products they are purchasing, labeling will help them to determine what they want.

Helps Vegetarians, Vegans, and certain religions: By adding labels, it will be easier to determine if the product has been modified with animal DNA.

Everyone else is doing it: Multiple countries around the world have labeling requirement when it comes to GM foods.

Cons:
Lack of understanding GMOs: Consumers will know which products are GM, but there is still a portion of the population that does not understand what the term genetically engineered means.

Costs will trickle down: Prices will increase in grocery stores.

There are already Non GMO products: For those consumers that prefer to purchase products that are Non-GMO, those already exist