Running head: Genetically Engineered Foods

Genetically Engineered Foods: What are Their Purpose and How Does it Affect the World?
Bryan Rodriguez
4/21/2013
Stanly Community College Online

Abstract
What exactly are genetically engineered foods? They are foods that have had their genes spliced, and added by scientists, for more favorable benefits. It can be an expensive process to grow crops with modified seeds. Most third-world countries rely on modified foods because they are not able to support traditional farming. Although this seems to be miraculous invention, it has numerous disadvantages that will stray many optimistic farmers away from this new path.

Genetically Engineered Foods: What are their Purposes and How Does it Affect the World?
Crossing genes to grow massive crops in agriculture is still a fairly new invention. For example, scientists still have not perfected gene splicing, and the majority of farmers are skeptical about genetically modified seeds. It has many advantages, but disadvantages are dragging along with it. Many corporations are patenting strands of modified plants so they can be sold for profit.
Advantages of Genetically Modified Crops
This is life science; a huge step towards technology that seems to produce miracles. Gene splicing is not an easy task. The outcomes are usually random or not expected, because it is still a recent discovery. There have been a handful of controlled outcomes that has successfully made it outside the lab, and started growing in crops around the world. Imagine that you are attempting to grow a certain type of plant that thrives in warm climates, but cannot sustain its life in your cold environment. With life sciences, Scientists have been able to splice the genes of the cold-sustaining plant into the warm-temperature plant.
Cost of Growing Modified Foods
With the miraculous invention of modifying genes in plants, surely it will be inexpensive; it is not. The corporations that have patented the foods have taken out the simplicity of growing modified crops, replaced them with costs. “Genetically modified crops are easy to grow and have many advantages. They do not use pesticides and can ensure that there will be enough food production in developing countries” (Estrella Herrera 2003). Companies have started to patent the blueprints of the engineered plants and sell them at high prices to farmers. Not only do the farmers have to pay a high price for the foods, they are pressured to buy their branded pesticides and incorporate a technique that has questionable methods of farming. “Many patents are also going against the poor. The corporations that promote genetically engineered crops are also strongly advising to use a technique called crop uniformity, which allows crops to become more susceptible to diseases and pests. After the technique has been implemented, they advise farmers to buy their pesticides” (Shah A. 2002). This is not pleasant idea to farmers who are not having a great season, or are not willing to change their method of agriculture.
Corporations
Corporations, such as Monsato, have bought the seeds or foods from scientists. Their plan is to resell these inventions and make a profit. The corporations are constantly pressuring farmers to buy their production, or face consequences. To me, this seems unfair because they are attempting to monopolize on life science productions and destroy any hope that farmers had.
Third-World Countries Many third-world countries are poor and unable to sustain enough food for its people, due to unfavorable climates, hazardous environments, or expensive products. Modified foods would be a great solution to these problems. “Maize, soybeans and golden rice are the biggest imported GMOs around the world. Importing golden rice has gone through many debates in Asia. Supposedly, it is used for its Vitamin A supplements, but the cost is increasing, it is only produced in domestic countries, and very little of it