A Carrot

What Was Altered

•Resistance against pathogens

•Resistance to pests

•Herbicide tolerance

•increased calcium content

Corn

What Was Altered

•Drought resistance

•Resistance to pests

•Weed control

•increased oil content and thus increased energy yields

Cotton

What Was Altered

•Resistance against pests

•Weed control

•Cold, heat and drought tolerance

•Oil and starch content, fatty acids

Apple

What Was Altered

•Resistance against pathogens

•Resistance against pests

•Modified blossom time

•Modified content of fruit sugar and alcohol

Benefits Of GMO's

* Crops
o Enhanced taste and quality
o Reduced maturation time
o Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
o Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides
o New products and growing techniques
* Animals
o Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
o Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
o Improved animal health and diagnostic methods
* Environment
o "Friendly" bioherbicides and bioinsecticides
o Conservation of soil, water, and energy
o Bioprocessing for forestry products
o Better natural waste management
o More efficient processing
* Society
o Increased food security for growing populations

Risks Involved With GMO's

*Safety
o Potential human health impacts, including allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects
o Potential environmental impacts, including: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
*Access and Intellectual Property
o Domination of world food production by a few companies
o Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries
o Biopiracy, or foreign exploitation of natural resources
*Ethics
o Violation of natural organisms' intrinsic values
o Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
o Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
o Stress for animal
*Labeling
o Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
o Mixing GM crops with non-GM products confounds labeling attempts

Pro's Of Labeled GM Foods

For religious or ethical reasons, many Americans want to avoid eating animal products, including animal DNA.

Mandatory labeling will allow consumers to identify and steer clear of food products that cause them problems.

Consumers have a right to know what’s in their food, especially concerning products for which health and environmental concerns have been raised

At least 22 countries have announced plans to institute some form of mandatory labeling

Con's Of Labeled GM Foods

Consumers who want to avoid animal products need not worry about GE food. No GE products currently on the market or under review contain animal genes.

Labels on GE food imply a warning about health effects, whereas no significant differences between GE and conventional foods have been detected. If a nutritional or allergenic difference were found in a GE food, current FDA regulations require a label to that effect.

Labeling of GE foods to fulfill the desires of some consumers would impose a cost on all consumers. Experience with mandatory labeling in the European Union, Japan, and New Zealand has not resulted in consumer choice. Rather, retailers have eliminated GE products from their shelves due to perceived consumer aversion to GE products

The food system infrastructure (storage, processing, and transportation facilities) in this country could not currently accommodate the need for segregation of GE and non-GE products.

My Decision

I think that foods should be labeled because people should know what they are eating and if what they are eating has some effect on their health because if the foods aren't labeled then it would be false advertising because of a lack of information. I also believe if information isn't shown the public is being denied proper rights because if someone who had eaten GMO foods has some type of reaction to it that affected their health it would be the fault of the people who chose not to label their products because if a person see's a GMO product that is labeled then they can have their own opinion whether or not to eat GMO foods and it would be there fault if they had a reaction to it because they chose to eat it. I think GMO products should be labeled for the safety of the people who choose to eat it.



Picture Links

http://www.freewebs.com/thefigtreeonline/GMO%20CORN.bmp

http://www.locavore.ca/wordpress/wp-content/gmo_tomato_b.jpg