The Benefits of Genetically Modified Foods

 

Specific purpose: To convinced my audience that GM foods are a good thing.

 

Introduction

I.                    If you could save thousands of lives worldwide, would you do it?

II.                 What if you heard this could be done by using genetically modified foods, would you still do it?

a.       I’ve always loved science.

b.      My love for science has led me to take several biology courses which dealt with genetics. I’ve also done some scientific research on genetics at Emory.

III.               Many people believe that genetically modified foods are a bad thing, but this just isn’t so.

IV.              GM foods have the potential to save or improve thousands of lives and save a ton of money world wide.

V.                 In order to know just why GM foods are so helpful, you need to know what exactly GM foods are. You’ll also need to know about the types of problem that can be solved by GM foods. Lastly you’ll need to know why some people don’t like GM foods, and why their arguments are flawed.

(Transition: So before we start talking about GM foods, we need to know just what a GM food is.)

Body 1

I.                    The concept of genetics may seem overwhelming or too scientific for most people… It’s not that tough really.

a.       Genetics is the study of genes.

                                                               i.      Genes are more or less a coding that dictates how everything will be built and function within a living animal.

                                                             ii.      Every living organism has genes.

b.      Genetic coding is universal, it’s all written in the same language.

                                                               i.      Genes are coded using a sequence of chemicals.

                                                             ii.      Because of the universal coding, code can be swapped from organism to organism.

II.                 Genetic modification is exactly what it sounds like: modifying the genes of an organism.

a.       Genes can be deleted, inserted, or moved to produce a desired trait.

b.      One extreme example of genetic modification is when scientists produced a glow-in-the-dark, neon green rabbit. They did this by inserting genes responsible for luminescence from jellyfish into the rabbit’s genetic code.

III.               GM foods use the same concept that all other GM organisms do.

a.       The genes of various food sources including plants and animals are modified

b.      The genes can be modified to make a more resistant, stronger food.

                                                               i.      They can also be modified to produce more of a nutrient or to produce a nutrient that the plant didn’t produce in the first place.

                                                             ii.      Another type of modification is one which allows the organism to grow larger or produce more product.

(Transition: Now that we know what genetic modification is and that we can make a glow-in-the-dark rabbit, we need to know about the practical uses of GM.)

 

Body 2

I.                    According to ActionBioscience.org, the practical applications of GM foods are limitless

a.       They can be used to cure world hunger

b.      They can be used to prevent disease

c.       They can be used to improve human health

d.      And plenty of other things.

II.                 Benefits of GM foods varies depending on the type of food, as stated by The Human Genome Project.

a.       Thousands of plants have been GMed to do different things

                                                               i.      Taste and quality are improved

                                                             ii.      Maturation time is reduced

                                                            iii.      Plants are more resistant to pests, herbicides, and disease.

                                                           iv.      Nutrients, yield and tolerance to environmental stress are improved

                                                             v.      New, better products are created (ex: combining 2 fruits in one.)

b.      Food animals and food for animals can be improved through GM

                                                               i.      Disease resistance, hardiness, and overall health is improved

                                                             ii.      Feed can be made more efficient

                                                            iii.      Animal product yield can be improved/increased (eggs, milk, etc)

c.       GM foods can also improve the environment

                                                               i.      Natural pesticides/herbicides can be coded, eliminates spraying dangerous chemicals

                                                             ii.      Water, energy, and soil can be conserved

                                                            iii.      Better natural waste management is possible

III.               Here are some examples of genetically modified foods that are making a difference:

a.       Rice was made to produce vitamin A that can be used to help up to 100 million children who may go blind from vitamin a deficiency.

b.      Tomatoes were made to soften more slowly, allowing them to be on the vine or on the shelf for longer

c.       Potatoes were recently made that absorb less fat when being fried. They’ve also made potatoes that contain less carbs.

d.      An apple was produced that contained a vaccine against a virus that causes childhood pneumonia.

e.       AgBioForum states that a type of salmon has been recently created which produces more omega-3 fatty acid, a chemical which has been shown to reduce heart disease.

(Transition: now that we’ve heard the good side of GM foods, we need to take a look at why some people don’t like them and why they are wrong)

 

 

Body 3

I.                    Many people will argue that GM foods are a bad thing for many reasons; ultimately all of their reasons are flawed.

a.       Most of the time people don’t like the idea of GM foods because of ethical reasons.

                                                               i.      Some say that “playing god” is wrong

1.      GM foods is not “playing god,” cloning MIGHT be, but GMing things is not.

                                                             ii.      Some think that everything should be 100% natural

1.      Why have everything 100% natural when it could be 10x better if you modify it a little bit?

b.      Another reason people don’t like GM foods is because they just don’t know enough about them

                                                               i.      Ignorance continues to fuel the GM debate

1.      If people took the time to learn about GM foods, they’d understand the benefits

                                                             ii.      People think that the idea is too advanced to understand so they jump on the bandwagon and hate GM foods because they don’t attempt to understand them

1.      Bandwagon mentality is hard to avoid, and motivating people to learn isn’t easy.

II.                 Here are some specific arguments made about GM foods

a.       People are scarred that “super crops” will breed with wild populations and cause plants to grow out of control or create “super weeds”

                                                               i.      If you have basic genetics understanding, you’d know that it’s not possible for say corn to breed with a weed like crab grass. Breeding between 2 different species is just not genetically possible.

                                                             ii.      If there is a chance that GM organisms could breed with wild organisms, it’s 100% possible and easy to make the GM organism sterile.

b.      Some people worry that antibiotic properties or other gene traits may cause health or allergy problems

                                                               i.      The genes that are inserted into GM foods are from natural sources. It’d be much better to have food with natural antibiotics or pesticides than to continue eating harsh cancer causing, growth stunting chemical antibiotics or pesticides that are currently used

                                                             ii.      Allergies are a part of life. Sure, new allergies may arise, but it’s nothing people don’t already have and it’s nothing that can’t be fixed by not eating that particular food.

c.       Some say that genetic modification just isn’t natural.

                                                               i.      Guess again. We’ve been modifying genes for THOUSANDS of years. This is done via selective breeding. With selective breeding you typically get several bad traits for each good trait that is developed. It also takes forever.

                                                             ii.      With GM, selective breeding is not needed. The bad traits that arise in selective breeding can be eliminated with GM because it is so precise. GM is also much faster than having to wait several generations for a trait to develop.

 

(Transition: As you’ve seen, arguments against GM foods are flawed, usually due to being uninformed. Now let’s take a minute to conclude)

 

Conclusion

I.                    I hope that I’ve helped you to see that GM foods are not a bad thing

II.                 Most people are afraid to think about what GM is, but as you’ve heard, it’s really not that complicated.

III.               The worldwide improvements that can be made via GM foods are limitless

IV.              Those who argue against GM foods are usually ignorant to its advantages and how it works.

V.                 If they only knew what you now know about GM foods, we could save millions of lives!