Title: U.S. Approves Corn Modified For Ethanol
Author: Andrew Pollack
Publication: February 11, 2011
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/12/business/12corn.html?_r=1&ref=geneticallymodifiedfood
This article was about how the U.S.Department of Agriculture recently approved a type of genetically modified corn to make it easier to turn into ethanol. As always on this topic, it is reported that many people are against the department's decision to allow this. Other farmers do not want the pollen of this corn cross-breeding with their corn. The North American Millers Association stated,“If this corn is commingled with other corn, it will have significant adverse impacts on food product quality and performance." This modified corn contains an enzyme that breaks the corn down into sugar, which is the next step of turning it into ethanol. Supporters say that this corn will use less water, chemicals, and work, but produce more ethanol. Syngenta, the company that owns this crop, has been told to work with protesters to make them more happy. Syngenta says that as much as 40% of last years corn production went towards ethanol production, so this is another step forward. It is unclear at this time if there are any bad things about GMO's , but I hope that the Department of Agriculture made the right decision.
Opinion:
I think that genetically modified corn is a great idea. I eat a lot of corn during the summer, and I am not concerned with possible negative affects of this corn. I hope that scientists can modify corn so that it is always sweet so that I can always enjoy my summer corn! Because 40% of corn is used towards ethanol I think that genetically modified corn will be a good way to make ethanol at a faster rate. As time passes by I think more people will start to see the many benefits of GMO's (genetically modified organisms). These organisms will boost the economy, produce more at a faster rate, and improve the quality of them. I hope that in the future we will find safe and healthy ways to modify our food so that we can help to end world hunger and get better quality food!
Graphic: http://politicolnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/GMO-CORN.bmp
This image shows a piece of corn being genetically modified.
Questions:
1) What is your opinion on GMO's?
2) Do you think that most of our food will be genetically modified in the future?
3) Would you eat genetically modified food?
4) What are the Pro's and Con's of Genetically modified organisms?
Opinion: I agree. These new “better” corns will definitely help. Like Andrew said, it will boost the economy, have more crop yield and improve quality. The only problem is cross pollination. A couple years ago, I had a garden with corn in it and there were little grains ants were taking and moving them to pollinate the plant. Well if ants got into the ethanol corn farm, and got the grains and brought the grains to a normal corn field, then the seeds of the crop would have an undesired trait. Chances are small, but its still there and GMO's will help us if they are closely monitored.
ReplyDeleteExtension: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ft2garden.powweb.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/CornSilks.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ft2garden.powweb.com/blog/%3Fcat%3D11&usg=__PiSK4X3SZdNtESmOISRXw7pG1ms=&h=621&w=468&sz=97&hl=en&start=0&sig2=6ru1wIziNBdozoNElqNtag&zoom=1&tbnid=rVsY5wXxqjsbdM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=93&ei=ug2eTeP-IIns0gH3xNWtBQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dants%2Bpollinating%2Bcorn%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26biw%3D995%26bih%3D535%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=308&vpy=165&dur=749&hovh=259&hovw=195&tx=112&ty=200&oei=ug2eTeP-IIns0gH3xNWtBQ&page=1&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0
This picture shows the grain ants can carry (shown on leaf) to the little blond hairs of the corn kernels to pollinate it.
Answers:
1) I like GMO's, they can help a lot with big risks, but small chances sometimes.
2) Yes, unless there is some big catastrophe in which causes GMO's to be ruled out.
3) Like Mrs. DeLuca said, we may already have.
Opinion
ReplyDeleteI think this is quite interesting. I myself also eat a lot of corn, and if the corn is sweeter, bigger, and all around better quality, I say, why not? I think it's a little ridiculous that people are always fighting against GMO's. I really don't see the problem, and organic food is always more expensive and harder to grow. So all in all, I think that this new type of corn is interesting and will certainly be useful to people in the future. It can help farmers and consumers, because they are easier to grow, and cheap to buy.
Answers to Questions:
1. Like I said earlier, I think they are a great idea. I'm not going to get into it because of the essay we have to do, but I think they are interesting and are good for our economy.
2. No, not really. I think there will be a lot of it, possibly more than today. But I think the organic farms will still be trying to take over by then.
3. Yes, and I'm sure we all have. There are no labels so it's not like we can do anything about it.
Questions I ask:
1. What is ethanol?
2. Just how is safe is this new corn?
Graphic:
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=genetically+modified+corn&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=ybVk4C-RmZ8aWM:&imgrefurl=http://www.global-greenhouse-warming.com/genetically-modified-corn.html&ei=wBWeTcjqDaSw0QHKyfDSBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=189&vpy=145&dur=4002&hovh=140&hovw=160&tx=31&ty=11&oei=wBWeTcjqDaSw0QHKyfDSBA&page=1&tbnh=140&tbnw=160&start=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&biw=1045&bih=484
I thought this was in interesting political cartoon type picture to show what some people think of GMO's.
I think that this is yet again another controversial issue. Organic farmers are obviously against the decision and factory farms were in full support of the decision. Now that this corn is being modified, if it is mixed with natural corn there will be many serious consequences in the food industry. Personally, I do not think that this corn should have been approved. I am not a big fan of genetic modification and I say to just let the vegetables grow naturally. Although there is a lot of demand, we have plenty of cornfields and people will have to wait I guess. Genetic modification will soon completely overrun organic foods. As I mentioned before, not many people eat only organic food. The way that this article relates to me is the corn. I eat cereal just about every day of the week for breakfast. In the article, it says that one of the effects of the modified corn being mixed with natural corn is soggy cereal. If there was soggy cereal, I would not eat it and would be out of breakfast. All in all, genetic modification is a huge deal that not many people in our society are aware of and we need to find a way to make both ends meet.
ReplyDeleteExpansion: http://www.capital.edu/23615.pdf Interesting link about corn modification and the pros of cons of this process and how advocates and skeptics have reacted.
Questions Answers:
(Answer to #2) Unfortunately, my answer to this question is yes. I think that the majority of our food will be genetically modified in the future. People do not take notice of what they are eating, but how it tastes. Therefore, there is a small amount of people who eat strictly organic food. GMO’s speed up food production, but have huge risks and with new technology soon to come, GMO production will skyrocket.
3 Questions
1. Why did the Department of Agriculture approve this corn to be used for ethanol?
2. How did organic farmers and how to factory farms respond?
3. How can you tell if your food is genetically modified or not?
Opinion: I agree with Andrew that modified corn would be great to have in the seasons when crops don't grow their best. To be able to have well grown corn that tastes good all year round would improve on people's diets to eat healthier foods that are always available. I know that in the winter when my mom goes to the food store to buy food we usually don't buy that much fruit because it is not the best season to grow them, so we wait for spring to come to get fresh fruit. If GMO fruits and vegetables were made to be fresh all year round then that would be a big improvement on the way people eat their meals.
ReplyDeleteAnswer to Questions:
1) I think that some GMO's that might make animals or humans have a greater resistance to pesticides are bad for the ecosystem because then they are stronger and we would just have to make an even strong more resistant GMO. However, GMO's that have little effect on the environment and people I believe are good because little change will occur.
2) Yes, I think a lot of our food will be genetically modified, however, there might be a small part not genetically modified to keep balance in the animals that are resistant and non-resistant to GMO's.
3)Yes I would eat genetically modified food as long as there is no effect to me after I eat it.
4)A pro to GMO's are that they speed up the prcess of some organisms growing. Another is that it can make things taste better and farmers or manufacturers can make more money when more of there products are being sold. A con to GMO's are that they can have negative effects to people. There isn't much history data of GMO's because they are relatively new. GMO's can also make humans or animals more resistant to the GMO which means it will wear off and another strong GMO will have to be made.
Questions:
1) What were farmers response to this decision?
2) What can scientist do to form more data about GMO's?
3) Will this make an even greater difference between a family farm and factory farms?