Contemporary Issues in Physiology (Research Paper Sample)

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
BACHELOR OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
CPY 420: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN PSYCHOLOGY
FOR:
BY:
ON:
In partial completion of the course CPY 420: Contemporary Issues in Psychology.
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………3
1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………...4
History of genetically modified foods…………………………………………….4
2. INFORMATION………………………………………………………………..5
Commonly Genetically Modified Foods…………………………………………..5
Foods Made with Genetically Modified Ingredients……...………………………5
Reasons for Genetic Engineering…………………………………………………..5
Reasons against Genetic Engineering……………………………………………...6
Physiology…………………………………………………………………………...7
Genetic Engineering in Kenya……………………………………………………..8
Research Findings on Genetically Modified Foods’ Impact……………………..8
Impact of Genetically Modified Foods on Physiology……………………………9
3. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………….11
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………….12
ABSTRACT
Genetically modified foods have the potential to raise productivity globally, though the same is also associated with adverse health effects. It has been said that the gains associated with adoption of genetically engineered foods largely outweigh any losses that the beneficiaries may incur. In the last 15 years, global production of genetically modified crops have dramatically increased, yet more than 95% of the area devoted to these crops is located in only four countries; USA, Argentina, Canada and China (James, 2006). We thus study the benefits and losses of adopting genetically engineered foods, and the underlying impact on human physiology.
1.INTRODUCTION
Genetically modified foods are a new development that has greatly taken stride over the last two decades. It occurs through the use of biotechnology, which permits the manipulation of organisms in a way and pace that nature cannot achieve. This modification of foods through unnatural ways is also known as genetic engineering. For centuries, crops and animals have been altered through selective breeding, but with genetic engineering, the scope of exchanging genetic material is much wider. In theory, genetic engineering allows exchange of genetic material between any organism including between plants and animals. For instance, the gene of a fish that lives in very cold seas has been inserted into a strawberry, allowing the fruit to be frost-tolerant. Thus selected individual genes with specific traits are transferred from one organism to another.
Genetic engineering involves introduction of genetic material to living organisms to create, alter, and affect them by bringing about radical, specific and desirable traits that might never occur naturally. DNA technology, as it also known, changes the core genetic makeup of an organism. Thus scientists are able to create desired traits ant to suppress the undesired ones.
History of Genetically Modified Foods
Genetically modified foods largely appeared in the American scene between 1997 and 1999. It was mostly in processed foods and this had been fuelled by a single Supreme Court ruling that for the first time allowed the patenting of life firms for commercialisation. By 2000, a quarter of American land i.e. 70-80 million acres were quickly converted to raise genetically modified foods. The culture quickly spread to neighbouring countries especially Canada, Argentina and China.
2. INFORMATION
Commonly genetically modified foods include;
Maize, wheat, rice, oilseed rape, chicory, squash, potatoes, soybeans, cocoa beans, bananas, pineapple, strawberries, sugar cane, bell peppers, sweet pepper, tomatoes, onions and cotton.
List of foods made with genetically modified ingredients are;
Popcorn, cottonseed oil, soy sauce, frozen pizza, canned soaps and vegetables, baby formula, dry cereal, cookies, and frozen dinners.
Reasons for Genetic Engineering/ Advantages
* Growth of sturdy plants that are able to withstand weather extremes
* Better quality food crops e.g. the tomatoes are larger than the naturally bred ones.
* Inexpensive and nutritious food, like carrots with more anti-oxidants
* Foods with a greater shelf-life
* Food with medicinal benefits such as edible vaccines. For instance, bananas with bacterial or anti-virus antigens
* Genetic engineering yields crops that are resistant to disease, pests and insects
* It produces the same effects that traditional breeding does, but takes a shorter span
* It allows the transfer of genes between non-related species e.g. between a plant and an animal
* It enables solving of the hunger pandemic in the world. Currently, the global food production cannot keep up with the global population growth
* It saves on the use of toxic chemicals, for example, through growth of pest-resistant crops.
* It minimizes wastage of crops, for example those attacked by pests
* It allows the rearing of organisms under varying conditions, such as growth of strawberries in frost areas
* Some genetically modified foods can be varied to contain more or higher amounts of vitamins and minerals, for example, in Africa on average 500,000 people go blind annually. If rice was modified to contain more vitamin A, less then cases of blindness would occur
* Genetic modification improves a country’s trade as they produce more and also reduce on their imports
Reasons against Genetic Engineering/ Disadvantages
* Genetically modified crops contaminate the naturally bred ones as they cannot co-exist
* Genetically modified crops will foster dependence on corporate seed suppliers and because such seeds cannot regenerate, this compels a farmer to become dependent on that company
* Genetically modified crops pose an environmental threat
* Genetically modified foods favour industrial agricultural experiments that are not sufficiently controlled
* The bio-safety systems required are unrealistic and African countries
* Genetic engineering does not solve pest issues
* Genetic engineering encourage arbitrary destruction and bio-diversity
* It is a threat to human health
* The produced foods are unnatural and people are unaware of the impacts created by the interaction between the genetically modified genes and our own genes
* There is a lack of regulated health safety testing. Many commercial companies especially in the USA (Monsanto Company) tailor results so as to get desirable results. And the American authorities do not review these tests unless voluntarily requested by the company producing the modified food
The World Health Or...