PHINMA ARAULLO UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF NURSING
Genetically Modified Organisms
As Food and Drugs
Pros VS Cons
Submitted To:
Mr. Seth Job Salamanca, RPh
(Name of Professor)
Submitted By:
Del Rosario, Zyrel Aubrey
Dela Cruz, Verlyn Jane
Fabros, Jenny
Fernandez, Johanna
Jacob, Winnie
Manuel, Lenard
Mata, Nicole
Orcino, Kristine Joyce
(SQUAD 2)
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Living organisms that have had their genes altered in some way. GMOs can be animals or bacteria, but most
often they are crops like corn or potatoes that have been tweaked in a lab to increase the amount or quality
of food they produce.
Pros of GMOs
"GMOs are designed to be extra — extra healthy, extra fast-growing, and extra resistant to weather or pests,"
says Megan L. Norris, PhD, a biomedical researcher at the UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Because scientists can select the most ideal traits to include in GMO crops, there are many advantages of modified
foods, including:
GMOs may have fewer pesticides. Many GMO crops have been altered to be less vulnerable to insects and other
pests. For example, Bt-corn is a GMO crop that has a gene added from Bacillus thuringiensis, naturally occurring
soil bacteria. This gene causes the corn to produce a protein that kills many pests and insects, helping to protect
the corn from damage.
"Instead of having to be sprayed with a complex pesticide, these crops come with an innate 'pesticide'," Norris says.
This means that farmers don't need to use as much pesticide on crops like Bt-corn – a 2020 study found that
farmers with GMO crops reduced their pesticide use by 775.4 million kilograms (8.3%) between 1996 and 2018.
The use of fewer pesticides in crops may lead to fewer health risks for people eating them and less damage to the
environment.
GMOs are usually cheaper. GMO crops are bred to grow efficiently – this means that farmers can produce the
same amount of food using less land, less water, and fewer pesticides than conventional crops.
Because they can save on resources, food producers can also charge lower prices for GMO foods. In some cases, the
costs of foods like corn, beets, and soybeans may be cut by 15% to 30%.
GMOs may have more nutrients. Certain GMO crops are designed to provide more nutrients like vitamins or
minerals. For example, researchers have been able to create a modified form of African corn that contains:
2 times as much folate when compared to traditional crops
6 times as much vitamin C when compared to traditional crops
169 times more beta-carotene than traditional crops.
This may be especially helpful in regions where people suffer from nutritional deficiencies.
Cons of GMOs
GMO crops can offer many advantages in costs and nutrition, but some experts worry that they carry health risks,
as well.
GMOs may cause allergic reactions. Because GMO foods contain DNA from other organisms, it's possible that the
new DNA can trigger allergies in people who wouldn't normally be allergic to the food.
In one instance, a GMO soybean crop created using DNA from a Brazil nut was unsafe for people with nut allergies
and couldn't be released to the public.
However, GMO foods go through extensive allergen testing, so they shouldn't necessarily be riskier than
conventional crops.
GMOs may increase antibiotic resistance. When GMO scientists insert new DNA into plant cells, they will often
add in an additional gene that makes the modified cells resistant to antibiotics. They can then use an antibiotic to
kill off any plant cells that didn't successfully take in the new DNA.
(Antibiotic resistance is a dangerous consequence of our tendency to overuse drugs)
However, researchers are finding that these antibiotic-resistant genes don't always go away once you digest GMO
foods, but can actually be passed through your feces into sewage systems. Some experts worry that these genes
may be absorbed into harmful bacteria found in sewers or your gut that can cause serious illnesses like staph
infections. This means that the usual antibiotic treatments would be powerless against these new super-bacteria.
Not all experts agree on this concern, however – some scientists argue that this type of gene transfer is very
unlikely and there is little risk to humans.
Advantages and Disadvantages of GMOs
List of Advantages of GMOs
1. They offer more useful knowledge for genetics.
The mapping of GMO genetic material has increased knowledge about genetic alterations and paved
the way for the enhancement of genes in crops to make them more beneficial in terms of production
and human consumption. For instance, crops can be engineered to resist unfavorable temperatures or
produce higher yields, thus providing a greater level of genetic diversity in regions where climate
hinders productivity.
2. They allow for more profit.
GMOs have become a very efficient means for farmers to make larger profits, as it allows them to
spend less time on resources. It is also economically efficient in a way that these organisms are
designed to be pest-resistant, eliminating the need to use pesticides, which means more savings.
3. They add more value to crops.
Another great reason to grow GMO crops is that these plants will get added nutritional value,
especially among those that previously lack the necessary vitamins and minerals. As there are regions
around the world that heavily rely on rice or corn, plant genes can be added to such crops to boost
their nutritional value, which is particularly helpful in malnourished populations. And because GMOs
are able to resist pests and other plant diseases, crop yields will be increased without the farmers
having to use pesticides.
4. They are known to decrease the prices of food.
Advanced crops and higher yields certainly mean lower costs, which are a benefit that can be passed
to the consumers in the form of cheaper food products. This will be very helpful to families who
cannot afford to buy supplies for everyday consumption. This also means that starvation will be
prevented.
5. They yield products that are found to be safe.
After precise testing and evaluation of GMOs and other related products, they are found to be safe for
human consumption. In fact, study shows that they are even safer compared to traditional crops
The possible benefits of genetic engineering include:
More nutritious food
Tastier food
Disease- and drought-resistant plants that require fewer environmental resources (such as water
and fertilizer)
Less use of pesticides
Increased supply of food with reduced cost and longer shelf life
Faster growing plants and animals
Food with more desirable traits, such as potatoes that produce less of a cancer-causing substance
when fried
Medicinal foods that could be used as vaccines or other medicines
List of Disadvantages of GMOs
1. They would make plants that leave unwanted residual effects to remain in the soil for a long
period of time.
The process of growing GMOs includes the addition of new genetic material into a crops genome, and
similar to bacterial genetic engineering in agricultural ecology, this means the introduction of new
genes in crops, like corn. Experimental cultivation of these crops started in the US and Canada in the
1980s and became large scale and commercial in the mid-1990s.
2. They can pose a threat to the insects that are important to the ecosystem.
GM crops are said to be dangerous to some insects, as their genes could be deadly to them. This is
definitely a serious issue when it comes to certain insects that are useful to the ecosystem, such as
butterflies, and are not actually dangerous to crops.
3. They can produce more weeds and can threaten the lives of animals.
Engineered plants are found to function as mediators to the transfer of genes to wild plants and the
creation of weeds. To keep them under control, scientists are inventing new herbicides that were not
necessary for non-GMO weeds and are toxic to various animals that feed on GMO crops, such as cows.
4. They threaten crop diversity.
Those who oppose the creation of GMOs push their argument with regards to the effect of these
products on genetic diversity. They say that genes from GM crops can spread to organic farm crops,
threatening diversity in agriculture
5. They are believed to change the field of agriculture in a negative way.
Research on the effects of growing GM crops on a large scale has sparked various concerns,
specifically those regarding ecosystems with GMO strains. According to scientists, these strains have
the potential to change agriculture in a negative way.
REFERENCE:
Madeline Kennedy and Samantha Cassetty (2020, November 20)
Evidence-based pros and cons of GMO foods (msn.com)
Medline Plus (2020) “Genetically engineered foods” Retrieved from
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002432.html
Judith L. Fridovich-Keil (2020) “Genetically modified organism” retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/science/genetically-modified-organism
Future of working the leadership and career blog “ 10 Advantages and Disadvantages of GMOs” retrived
from https://futureofworking.com/10-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-gmos/
