Genetically Modified Foods: Their Benefits and Drawbacks

Dear Senator Cornyn, As a United States Senator representing the state of Texas, you know that representing the beat out interests of your constituents is a full time job. perhaps one of the most important items in the lives of Texans is how and where their supply of food is produced. While commonplace agricultural techniques do provide much of the food in the market today, transmissibleally limited foods, or GM foods be quickly becoming an integral relegate of Americas food system. This letter is being submitted to passing game you a skeleton summary of what agenttically limited foods be, their benefits, and their drawbacks.It is our hope that you allow for theatrical role this information to make informed decisions c oncerning this debatable subject. Specifically speaking, agenttic modification is a special set of technologies that alter genetic makeup of organisms much(prenominal) as living creatures, plants, or bacteria. It is a form of biotechnology in which s pecific gene sequences are inserted into a specific plant or animal so that the trait exhibited by the gene is manifested in the plant or animal. By allowing specific genes to be re-combined, the value of the recipient role organism burn down be greatly increased.The potential risks attributed to such a genetically engineered crop can also be increased. Based on the available information, on that point are quite a public figure of tangible benefits to genetically modified plants. Crops can be genetically engineered to be to a greater extent resistant to pests, either plant or animal. By making such plants as corn, soybeans or even alfalfa more resistant, the resultant crop yields are larger, and the occupy for environmentally dangerous pesticides or herbicides are decreased greatly.Other crops, such as rice, have been genetically modified to let in iron and Vitamin A to increase their wellness benefits. There are some risks conglomerate with using genetically modified crops. adept of the most far reaching is the speculation of the genetically modified foods harming other organisms. A recent study of Cornell University indicated that a gene for a bacterial toxin inserted into corn was savage to monarch butterfly larvae. It is a set example of the far reaching affects of such alteration in the food system. other risk inherent in this typecast of modification is uncontrolled cross-pollination. Once a modified gene is placed indoors a plant, it is extremely difficult to preserve it spreading to the rest of the crop. There is a strong possibility of a once desirable modification becoming an unsuitable trait in another plant. Finally, the modified plants that have an increased resistance to pests and weeds can in time advertise the evolution of more resilient weeds and pests through cross breeding or selective evolution.At the time, no medical harm to humans has been traced to ingesting genetically modified foods. It should be remembered, that is n ot the same as proving that genetically modified organisms pose no potential dangers. It is our hope that this letter will provide you with a very brief overview of the many benefits and potential drawbacks of genetically modified foods. Please feel free to pinch us or other effort experts if you require further or more detailed information.