Genetically Modified Organisms | in Food | | Team Members: | |
Team Leader: Brenda Brown

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Outline
Abstract by Brenda Brown and Tony Balch 3
Thesis Statement and Summary by Kelly Baker and Brenda Brown 4
GMO Technology by Vanessa Brogsdale 5 I. What are GMO’S? II. Scientific Techniques and Experiments
History of GMO by Vanessa Brogsdale 12 I. Biotechnology Timeline II. Advantages and Disadvantages
Political and Legal Issues by Brenda Brown 16 I. U.S. Laws and Regulations II. Current Political Issues III. What are the Possible Health Effects of GM FOODS?
The Effect of GMO’S on the Economy by Brenda Brown 22 I. Corporate Power II. The Effects of Farming GM Crops
The desire is to achieve crops that are resistant to spoilage, drought, insects and herbicides. At the outset genetically modified (GM) seed manufacturers envisioned their product being used by producers, thus they focused on innovations those farmers, and more generally the food industry, would accept and appreciate (WHO, 2012, para. 3).
WHO states that (2012), the initial objective for developing plants based on GM organisms was to improve crop protection. The GM crops currently on the market are mainly aimed at an increased level of crop protection through the introduction of resistance against plant diseases caused by insects or viruses or through increased tolerance towards herbicides”
(para. 4).
Commodity crops were the First Generation GM crops and included soybean, maize/corn, cotton, canola and sugar beets (Schonwald, 2012, p. 26). GM soybeans and canola have permeated the market and can be found in most processed foods, e.g., spaghetti, candy Schonwald, 2012, p. 25). There was expectation that with the success of first generation crops, biotech specialty crops (produce) would follow, focusing more on consumer tastes. According to Kent Bradford, director of University of California (UC) at Davis’s Seed Biotechnology Center (2012), “these crops hadn’t been commercialized since 1998” (Schonwald, 2012, p. 26).
The author wondered why, and