The demand for food worldwide has increased the need for better and cheaper crops. Biotechnology has offered the needed technology to produce more nutritious and better tasting foods, and plants that are naturally protected from insects and diseases. Biotech. has also made possible selective breeding and hybridization of crops. These processes allow scientists to produce plants with specific beneficial traits and plants without undesirable traits as well. There are also benefits in the environment, where pesticides are used more rarely now. Biotechnology makes plant b

The first genetically engineered food went on the market in May 1994. It was a new kind of tomato, which could be shipped to different countries vine -- ripened without bruising and rotting rapidly. This genetically -- altered product was determined by the FDA to be as safe as other commercial tomatoes. The "Flavr Savr" was the first genetically engineered, "ready - to -eat" food product available to the USA. Especially in the off season, many customers are not satisfied with store bought tomatoes because they are either ripe and bruised and rotting, or they are not ripe at all, and taste and feel like a "tennis ball". About 85% of US households buy fresh tomatoes, but about 80% of those are displeased with the quality of store bought ones. This is why it's maker, Calgene, INC. made Flavr Sa vr.

Time last summer, respected and honored. Golden rice is (so far) the most celebrated biotechnology product in the world.

After reading this, many people agree that this is completely unnecessary, and even further, unwanted. But, the reader may want to keep going, and read the benefits of genetically modified crops.

After reading and thinking in depth about the consequences of the topic, I have my own opinion on the issue. These scientists have me convinced after reading their statements that the governments need to put a halt to this and have further testing and refining done before any more food products are genetically engineered.

Some of the new genes being added to plants have the ability to remove heavy metal, such as mercury, from the soil and concentrate then in the tissues of the plant. The reason they have added these genes in some plants is so that regular mud can be used as a fertilizer. The mud contains nutrients that are good for the plants, however it is also contaminated with heavy metals. The idea is to remove the metals to non-edible parts of the plant. For example, in a tomato plant the metal would concentrate in the roots and in a potato plant, the metal would be in the leaves. To do this they use genetic on and off switches. The risk is that if the switch is not completely off, the edible part of the plant could be contaminated.

reeding safer. It allows scientists to move single genes instead of having to move thousands, and makes possible the identification of these genes and their protein products that are toxins.

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Approximate Word count = 1749
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)