Food, GM foods, Monsanto (with China maybe) Essay

Food, GM foods, Monsanto (with China maybe) - Essay Example It also describes that how the overall process is conducted. The following write up describes the different pros and cons of genetically engineered food products along with the technologies used for the formation of the same. We also witness that how the pioneer company of genetically modified food production called Monsanto effects the market globally though the consequences are not always positive (Marie- Monique Robin in The World According to Monsanto, p.46). It will be noted that the difference in the response of the developed and the developing countries towards these advancements by mainly focusing on US, which provides the largest market for GM food products, and China, which is still a developed country. It will also be studied that the arrival and establishment of Monsanto in China and the overall responses of the country to Monsanto and all the other multinational companies as such (Michael Moss in The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food, p.129). Other books consu lted for this proposal include Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food, Story of Stuff, Food essays and Food, Inc. Genetic Engineering : Pros and Cons There are certain limitations to traditional breeding processes. It takes almost a decade to produce plant with the desired traits. Genetic engineering makes this process much faster as well as effective in the most precise way possible. This is done by separating the desired gene from the plant and inserting it directly into the DNA of the other plant by different electrical and chemical processes (John L Seitz, p.49). Genetic modification has broken the natural existing boundaries between different species. For example a frog and a mango can never breed naturally. But genetic modification can make this possible by inserting the genes of frog into the DNA of mango plant creating a new organism. Genetic modification is not only possible for plants and animals but also for humans (Michael Moss, p.125). Many biotechnology compan ies suggest that genetic engineering is the modification of same breeding process which has been used by the farmers since thousands of years. Plants and animals of different species have crossbred to create new species signifying that gene manipulation is completely natural. The only difference is that nature takes millions of years where as genetics can accomplish the same results in months. Long term effects of environment on genetically modified organisms are yet to be studied deeply (Michael Pollan, p.38). It is claimed that genetically modified crops provide a higher yield to the farmers in comparison to the conventional crop. GM crops are more economical as well. Genetic modification in the crops increases their resistance reducing the expense on herbicides and consequently decreasing the cost per acre (Francis Harris, p.165). However, farmers are required to purchase genetically modified seeds each year due to technology agreements adding to their expenses. Some critics clai m that GM crops might cause damage to small scale farmers as they will become indentured to agribusiness companies (Michael Moss, p.129). As a result cost per acre will also increase along with the yield. There are no issues regarding the safety of the food items already present in the market. But this does not mean that they are completely safe. Biotechnology advocates that there are no reasons for concern when