GMO: BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS: BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
Learning Goal: I will be able to understand the history of GMOs and
recognize the tension between altering the DNA in our food sources
and the impact that can have on our lives and environment
Genetically Modified Organism (GMO): organisms in which
genes from another organism are inserted into the targeted
organism’s DNA
•Has the potential to both positively and negatively affect the
environment and human health.
•Plants can be genetically modified easily because they can be
grown from a single cell or small pieces of tissue. Thus, one
only needs to modify a single cell to produce an entire
genetically modified organism
Bill Nye- Genetically
Modified Foods
History of Genetically
Modified Foods:
8000 BCE- Ancient farmers in
what is now Mexico took the
first steps in domesticating
maize when they simply chose
which kernels (seeds) to plant.
Source: Rangel, Gabriel. "From Corgis to Corn: A Brief Look
at the Long History of GMO Technology." Science in the News.
Harvard University, 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
Found at: http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/fromcorgis-to-corn-a-brief-look-at-the-long-history-of-gmotechnology/
7800 BCE- Artificial selection has
also been utilized with a variety
of plants. In archaeological sites
found in southwest Asia, scientists
have found domestic varieties of
wheat
1973- First Modern GMO
produced- Herbert Boyer and
Stanley Cohen worked together
to engineer transfer a gene that
encodes antibiotic resistance
from one strain of bacteria into
another
1975 – Asilomar Conference- A group of biologists get
together with a few lawyers and doctors to create guidelines for
the safe use of genetically engineered DNA.
1980 – First GMO Patent Issued- Supreme
Court case between a genetics engineer at
General Electric and the U.S. Patent Office is
settled by a 5-to-4 Supreme Court ruling,
allowing for the first patent on a living
organism.
•The GMO in question is a bacterium with an
appetite for crude oil, which would help eat
up oil spills
1982 – FDA Approves First GMO- Humulin,
insulin produced by genetically engineered E.
coli bacteria, appears on the market.
1994 – GMO Hits Grocery Stores- The FDA approves the Flavr
Savr tomato for sale on grocery store shelves. The delayedripening tomato has a longer shelf life than conventional
tomatoes
1996 – GMO-Resistant Weeds- Weeds resistant to glyphosate,
the herbicide used with many GMO crops, are detected in
Australia.
•Research shows that the super weeds are seven to 11 times
more resistant to glyphosate than the standard susceptible
population.
1997 – Mandatory LabelsEuropean Union rules in favor of
mandatory labeling on all GMO
food products, including animal
feed.
1999 – GMO Food Crops
Dominate- Over 100 million acres
worldwide are planted with
genetically engineered seeds. The
marketplace begins embracing
GMO technology.
2003 – GMO-Resistant Pests- A
Bt-toxin resistant caterpillar is
found eating GMO Bt cotton crops
in the southern US.
•BT- toxin: a pesticide which is a
protein that is toxic to insects. Bt
can be sprayed on crops or it
can be added to the DNA of
genetically modified crops.
•In less than a decade, the bugs
have adapted to the genetically
engineered toxin produced by
the modified plants.
2011 – Bt Toxin in Humans- Research in eastern Quebec finds
Bt toxins in the blood of pregnant women and shows evidence
that the toxin is passed to fetuses.
2012 – Farmer Wins Court Battle- French farmer Paul Francois
sues Monsanto for chemical poisoning (caused by inhaling weed
killer)
•He suffered from dizziness, headaches and other problems
after examining a sprayer in 2004 which contained Lasso,
part of the Roundup Ready line of products.
•Lasso is now banned
•Francois wins and sets a new precedent for future cases.
2014 – GMO Patent Expires- Monsanto’s
patent on the Roundup Ready line of
genetically engineered seeds will end in two
years.
•Roundup is widely used by both people in
their backyards and farmers in their fields.
•Roundup Ready plants are resistant to
Roundup, so farmers that plant these seeds
must use Roundup to keep other weeds from
growing in their fields.
•In 2009, Monsanto introduced Roundup 2
with a new patent set to make the firstgeneration seed obsolete.
Nov. 2014 – Oregon residents vote on labeling GM foods51% voted against labeling and 49 percent for labeling
Ethical Question: Should Genetically Modified Foods be
required to be labeled in the United States?
Arguments for/against labeling GM Foods:
Proponents:
1. Consumers have a right to know what they
are putting into their body
2. There aren’t a lot of studies which show
the health effects of eating GM foods, so
it could have harmful effects on the health
of the consumers and unborn babies
3. Some people want to be strictly GMO
free because they want to be strictly
organic or don’t like GM companies
Opponents:
1. Costs of labeling is too expensive which will increase the cost
of food for the consumer
•In some places you don’t need to label GMOs and some you
do; so having two different labeling systems could be costly
•If you want to make a baked good or meal product to sell,
you’d need to go through every ingredient and where you
source it from to check whether they are GM foods; this will
take time and employees to do the job
2. There is no proof that GM foods are not safe to eat
3. Consumers might be scared away from products that they
have already been using
HW: Think about the Ethical Question and on the bottom of your
notes, list what information you would need to know in order to
answer the ethical question