Amanda is quiet but sweet. She put up with my wild child on the regular, so I know she has patience. She has plans to do research some day....where she will be testing her patience on a regular. I definitely wish that was something someone told me before I got into this field. Science takes a long time.
GMO food products are being widely discussed in the health communities and many people do not have the scientific background to understand how and why they are made. GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, usually are talked about in terms of the food we eat. GMO crops are made to withstand the environment and produce more hearty crops that will last. Some GMO modifications were to add genes that defend the crop against certain insects that could damage whole plots of that crop. If that crop would not have been genetically modified, it would have been sprayed with insecticides in order to do the same process. Chemicals do not have to be the answer to the problem when you can modify the organism with a protein without harmful effects. Other genes are added to improve the quality of the crops when shipping them across the country and to increase shelf life at the store. The added gene into organism makes a protein and that protein is broken down in the stomach like any other protein we consume.
Infographic on the benefits of GMO crops and food production
GMOs are not harmful and have many benefits to produce. Since GMO crops can withstand more conditions, there are higher amounts of usable food being produced. Since there are higher amounts of food, companies do not need to increase the land that they plant these crops on. The science behind genetic modification is not discussed well to the public and I think there should be more education and ways to let them know that it is a safe and highly beneficial process.
There are other GMOs being studied outside of growing crops. Many microorganisms can be modified to assist in food production like alcohol and dairy products. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is modified in order to maximize alcohol production and the lactic acid bacteria to make as much lactic acid in dairy products. Both microbes are useful, and the modifications done to them make them more efficient and cheaper to produce at large quantities. GMOs are very beneficial to both productions and help create many of the food products you love. GMOs make up much of the food production and crops that we eat on a daily basis and make food as cheap and available as possible.
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