Amy

Genetic Engineering: Should it be applied to agriculture?

1. What is genetic engineering? 2. Who developed the idea/ scientific process of genetic engineering? 3. When was this process first implemented into our food, and when did this food his the market? 4. How are genetically engineered products different from other products? How does the process effect our food? 5. What do consumers think about the process? 6. Why would/wouldn’t agriculturists want to use genetic engineering? 7. How is this process going to benefit/hurt agriculture? 8. How is this process going to change the way the world looks at food? 9. If genetic engineering is going to make us more efficient, potentially saving lives by producing more food, why do so many consumers disagree with the process in our food sources? 10. Will genetic engineering cause organic farming to become a luxury item? "Genetically Modified Foods and Organisms." Human Genome Project. Genomic Science Program, 05 Nov. 2008. Web. 30 Oct. 2010.. ﻿This article is primarily about describing exactly what genetic engineering is. It also outlines a couple advantages and a couple of the controversies surrounding genetically modifying foods. I love that this article is stacked with statistics. However, most of these statistics are from other countries, and I wish more of them were taken from the United States.
 * TOPIC: ** I have chosen to research genetic engineering and the pros and cons of applying the process being in agriculture.
 * Annotated Bibliography **[[image:http://www.crystalinks.com/plantbreeding.jpg width="202" height="239"]]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Pros and Cons of Genetic Engineering." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. 2007. Web. 30 Oct. 2010. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-genetic-engineering.html>. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">﻿This article is not only about agriculture, but about other industries that genetic engineering affects. This obviously isn't necessarily helpful, but it does a great job explaining the concepts to someone who knows nothing about the entire idea, which is a quality I am going to need to bring to my paper. It also talks about consumer concerns with genetically engineered foods, which is an important audience that agriculturists have to appeal to.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 32px;">"Fact Sheet: Pros vs Cons - Genetically Modified Foods (UK)." Comphrensive Advice on Genetically Modified Foods. Genetically Modified Foods (UK), 2010. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 32px;"> <http://www.geneticallymodifiedfoods.co.uk/fact-sheet-pros-vs-cons.html>. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Up to this point, the primary controversy with genetically modified foods has been the moral issues that consumers have with it. This article, however, discusses that there could also be an issue with allergies. People don't always know exactly what genes affect them in the foods they are allergic to. Therefore, if the GMO (genetically modified organism) contains a gene from a food that someone is allergic to, the GMO may or may not be harmful, but there is practically no way of knowing until the person tries the food. This definitely holds dangerous possibilities.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 32px;">Delude, Cathryn M., and Kenneth W. Mirvis. Editorial. Your World 2000: 1-13. BiotechInstitute. The Biotechnology Institute. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. <http://www.biotechinstitute.org/resources/pdf/yw10_1.pdf>. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">This newsletter discusses primarily the benefits of genetic engineering. Even though the cons are mentioned, they are not explained in any detail. There are quite a few statistics backing up the need for genetic engineering in order to feed our growing world. The most convincing combination of statistics were: 1 Million people die from starvation a year, and our world is expected to increase by 33% over the next 40 years. This showed me that we are obviously going to have to do something if we hope to provide food for our growing world.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 24px;">Eenennaam, Alison L. Van. "Genetic Engineering and Animal Agriculture" University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. University of California, 2005. Web. 6 Sept. 2010. <http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8184.pdf>. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">This article only looks at the animal aspect of genetic engineering in agriculture. Most other articles talk about plants, therefore this article will be helpful in discussing another large part of our industry: animal food production. What I found interesting was that this article not only talked about animals as food, but the entertainment side of agriculture. Horse shows and bull riding are large parts of advertisement for the agriculture industry. Should genetic engineering be applies to this aspect of agriculture as well?

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 32px;">Jacobson, Michael F. "Biotech: Scourge or Savior." Nutrition Action Health Letter 36 (July-Aug. 2009): 2. Print. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 32px;">This newsletter discusses the argument of genetic engineering from a non-agriculture stand point. Even though this author is educated, he is obviously not a farmer. His point of view is coming from not only a consumer, but also a medical professional. This should be helpful in researching genetic engineering at all angles.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 32px;">Goad, Meredith. "Maine Consumers Want Labels for Genetically Engineered Food, Survey Shows." Portland Press Herald 12 Nov. 2002: 7. Print. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">This article took on an entirely new perspective. Goad did not disagree or agree with the practice of genetic engineering, but instead, she qualified the argument, saying that consumers were fine with GM food, as long as they knew which foods were and weren't genetically altered. This makes it a consumer choice whether or not to buy it based on moral or other issues with GM food. Goad says that most consumers recognize the benefits, but don't necessarily want the products in their diet. Therefore, Goad says a perfect solution is developing a label for GMOs on the market shelves.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; line-height: 32px;">"Current Uses of Biotechnology in Agriculture." Food and Agriculture. Union of Concerned Scientists, 11 Dec. 2002. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. <www.ucsusa.org>. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; line-height: 32px;">The thing that caught my eye about this article was that it wasn't just another article explaining the pros and cons, but instead this article describes specific examples for genetically modified organisms that we can buy at the grocery store. The thing that surprised me is that <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">there are all types of products that people by that are genetically engineered, and considering that this article is from 2002, I am sure the number of marketed GMOs has increased.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; line-height: 32px;">Burton, L. DeVere. Agriscience Fundamentals and Applications. 5th ed. Florence: Delmar, 2010. Print. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 32px;">My FFA Advisor just bought this book as a resource for our classroom. It does a great job of explaining the principals and methods of genetic engineering. This book mainly talks about genetic engineering from a scientist's and agriculturist's stand point, so the general opinion is that it would be a good thing.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; line-height: 32px;">"Genetic Engineering Advantages and Disadvantages." Biology Online. Science Network, 28 Apr. 2006. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. <www.govhs.org/.../Genetic+Engineering,+a.../animal.html>. <span style="color: #800080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; line-height: 32px;">This article is a flat out fact sheet on Genetic Engineering in general and in food. It definitely has the qualities of a research paper itself, clearly illustrating both sides of the argument. But since the Science Network is a sponsor of the website, they are obviously lobbying, to some degree that genetic engineering is a good thing, because it can be assumed they would like more money to research genetic engineering.
 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">Source Suggestions **

"Genetic Engineering and Agriculture." //Organic Trade Association//. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. []. From- Brandon Morgan. This was a very informative site about gentic engineering in agriculture. I hope that it will help.

"Dangers of Genetic Engineering in Agriculture." //Dangers of Genetic EngineeringCampaign for Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food//. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. []. From- Brandon Morgan. This site had a lot of evidence that showed the dangers of genetic engineering in agriculture.

Norba. "Corn Harvest." //World News//. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. <http://wn.com/Corn_harvest_>. //This website is about how genetically engineered corn is important in Colorado, namely Olathe Sweet Corn. I would recommend to pursue the economic values of this of the agriculture and community parts of it. If having problems finding community parts I would Google Olathe Sweet Corn Festival.// -From Jonathon

//Californians for GE-Free Agriculture//. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. <http://www.calgefree.org/facts_on_ge.html>. From: Ethan Owens, This website provides different facts, pros, and cons of genetic engineering, especially in the California agriculture.

"Know The Facts About Genetic Engineering." //Monsanto ~ Home//. Web. 05 Nov. 2010. <http://www.monsanto.co.uk/news/ukshowlib.phtml?uid=7185>. From: Ethan Owens, This website also provides more facts and important information about genetic engineering in agriculture and humans.

"Genetic Engineering and Animal Agriculture" University of California. Web. 08 Nov. 2010 http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8184.pdf Tim- A college did a research on it and this may help out.