Learning Outcomes: Lesson 9: Biodiversity and The Healthy Society

Lesson 9: Biodiversity and the Healthy Society
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, the learners are expected to:
a. Determine the interrelatedness of society, environment, and health
b. Discuss the ethics and implications of GMOs and potential future impacts
Introduction
Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are plants and animals with altered genetic
makeup. They have been edited in a laboratory to incorporate genes from other organisms to
achieve new characteristics like chemical resistance or accelerated growing time.
Abstraction
What Are Genetically Modified Organisms?
Genetically modified organisms are plants and animals that have been altered in a
laboratory to have new genetic makeup. Scientists incorporate genes from other organisms to
achieve new characteristics that are not inherent to the plants and animals being modified.
When scientists use genetic engineering to alter the genes of an organism, they're
generally seeking to add a trait they view as beneficial, usually for production purposes. Genetic
engineering is often done to achieve a trait not typically held by an organism, such as longer
shelf life, disease resistance, or different colors or flavors. The dangers and benefits of GMOs are
widely debated, but genetic modification is allowed in conventional farming in the US.
How Genetically Modified Organisms Work?

Farmers have traditionally bred both plants and animals to increase desirable
characteristics. Traditional methods for doing this include:
 Choosing seeds from the healthiest or fastest-growing plants as the sources for the next
year's crop
 Grafting branches from one tree onto another to create new varieties of fruit
 Breeding animals for size or output, such as milk or egg production
Increased knowledge of plant and animal genetics led to the practice becoming more
sophisticated, allowing farmers and scientists to breed for more selective traits. They also began
creating new crop hybrids in laboratories and applying chemicals and radiation in an effort to
induce desired changes in plants' genetic makeup.
These efforts have led to a variety of new crops, such as rice cultivars that are resistant to
drought or wheat cultivars that have a much higher yield. GMOs take these efforts to yet another
level and go beyond naturally occurring traits that can be achieved through selective breeding.
Instead of inducing mutations that deliver desired characteristics, GMO scientists directly edit
the genetic code of plants and animals by inserting genes that carry the characteristics being
sought.
The genes being introduced into one species can come from a completely unrelated
species, depending on the traits that scientists are trying to create.
Types of Genetically Modified Organisms
A well-known example of a GMO food is Roundup Ready corn, a variety of corn created
by Monsanto Company that's resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. This GMO-bred glyphosate
resistance stems from the addition of a bacterium gene and enables farmers to use more of the
herbicide, also manufactured by Monsanto, on their fields containing the corn.
Monsanto also has created Roundup Ready soy, alfalfa, canola, cotton, and sorghum. In
addition, the company has genetically modified corn, soybeans, and cotton in order to make
those crops more resistant to insects.
Other companies are developing genetically modified animals. For example, AquaBounty
Technologies created AquAdvantage salmon, a genetically modified Atlantic salmon approved
by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It incorporates genes from other fish,
including the Chinook salmon, that enable it to grow twice as fast as nongenetically modified
Atlantic salmon.
Prevalence of GMOs
Two common types of genetically engineered crops are insect-resistant (Bt) crops and
herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops. Bt crops contain genes from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacteria
and produce insecticidal proteins. HT crops are tolerant to herbicides that farmers use to control
weeds. The number of acres growing Bt crops and HT crops in the United States has increased
dramatically since.
Criticisms of Genetically Modified Organisms
The debate about genetically modified organisms is ongoing, both culturally and
politically. Proponents say that the uses of GMOs improve the food supply by increasing or
accelerating food production. Opponents say that the risks to both humans and the environment
outweigh these benefits The mid-1990s. HT cotton accounted for 10% of planted acres in 1997
but increased to 95% by 2019, while Bt cotton increased from 15% of cotton acreage in 1997 to
89% in 2020.
Risks
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that GMOs currently available are no more
likely to cause health problems than traditional foods, but it also states that foods need to be
assessed on a case-by-case basis. In the U.S., GMOs are regulated by the FDA, the USDA, and
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The main concerns of GMO critics are:
 Allergic reactions
 Possibility of transferred genes in foods entering human cells and having a negative
effect
 Outcrossing, or genes from GMOs find their way into conventional crops
According to WHO, no allergic effects have been found in GMOs on the market, and the
possibility of gene transfers and outcrossing are low, though precautions are encouraged. Other
concerns about genetically modified crops include the farming practices that their use
encourages. For example, studies have found that the use of glyphosate has increased
significantly since the introduction of Roundup Ready crops.
There are lingering questions in the scientific and environmental community about the
impact on both human and environmental health as a result of this increase. Glyphosate is
classified as a probable human carcinogen.
Environmental Impact
Another controversy surrounding GMOs involves their impact on the environment, such
as the impact of Bt crops on non-target species. For example, bees are not considered to be a
pest, but Bt crops still possibly cause harm to bee populations, which in turn impact the
pollination of various ecosystems and crops. Butterflies and birds are also cited as non-target
species that could be affected.
Additionally, pests or plants that are impacted are likely to eventually become resistant to
the negative effects Bt crops might have on them, leading to an endless cycle of crops being
altered further, followed again by further resistance from pests. This has been shown to happen
with the growth of glyphosate-resistant weeds as a result of glyphosate being overused after the
introduction of Roundup Ready crops.
Closure
Congratulations for a job well-done! You may now proceed to the next lesson. Enjoy
learning!!!

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Lesson 9: Biodiversity and the Healthy Society

How Genetically Modified Organisms Work?

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