Monsanto says, “Twenty years from now, the earth’s population will need 55 percent more food than it can produce now.” How will farmers be able to meet this demand if they continue to produce the same amount of food as today? Genetically Modified Organisms and biotechnology can help meet this demand. Biotechnology is the study of cellular and biomolecular processes to develop technologies, products that help improve our lives, and the health of our planet. An example of an application of biotechnology is the use and production of GMOs. A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant developed through a process in which a copy of a desired gene or section of genetic material from one plant or organism is placed in another plant. There are
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GM technology allows farmers to use fewer chemicals, such as pesticides. “It also helps them utilize more environmentally friendly planting techniques that cut down on soil erosion, greenhouse gas emissions and water use” (The Facts About GMOs, 1). Chipotle does not use GMOs in their food. They claim, “The cultivation of GMOs can damage the environment.” In spite of Chipotle’s claim, GMOs are helping our environment in several different ways. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Application, “Farmers who plant GMOs are saving time, money, and also reducing their environmental footprint.” “It is simply true that biotechnology has dramatically increased crop yields. It has dramatically decreased loss due to pests and disease, and it allows us to feed more people without converting tropical forests or fragile lands in order to do so,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry …show more content…
Their mission is to serve their customers the best ingredients and GMOs did not make the cut. Some of the reasons they decided to stop using GMOs in their food include the lack of studies that show the long-term effects of GMOs and the environmental harm GMOs can influence. In spite of Chipotle’s persuasive reasons to be anti-GMO, there have been studies on both the environmental factors and the long term effects of GMOs. In fact, a twenty nine year study was implicated by Alison Van Eenennaam and Amy E. Young, geneticists with the Department of Animal Science at the University of California-Davis. Van Eenennaam and Young reviewed 29 years of livestock production and health data from both before and after the introduction of GE animal feed. The field data represented more than 100 billion animals (Entine, 1). Their 29 year study showed that there weren’t any indications of unusual trends in the health of the tested animals since 1996, when GMO crops were first commercially available. “Considering the size of the dataset, it can reasonably be said that the debate over the impact of GE feed on animal health is closed: there is zero extraordinary impact,” says Eenennaam and Young. “GE crops with altered output traits for improved livestock feed [are] in the development and regulatory pipeline,” they write. Similarly, a study assessing the global environmental impacts of GM crops for the first seventeen years (1996-2012) of adoption. “This
GM technology allows farmers to use fewer chemicals, such as pesticides. “It also helps them utilize more environmentally friendly planting techniques that cut down on soil erosion, greenhouse gas emissions and water use” (The Facts About GMOs, 1). Chipotle does not use GMOs in their food. They claim, “The cultivation of GMOs can damage the environment.” In spite of Chipotle’s claim, GMOs are helping our environment in several different ways. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Application, “Farmers who plant GMOs are saving time, money, and also reducing their environmental footprint.” “It is simply true that biotechnology has dramatically increased crop yields. It has dramatically decreased loss due to pests and disease, and it allows us to feed more people without converting tropical forests or fragile lands in order to do so,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry …show more content…
Their mission is to serve their customers the best ingredients and GMOs did not make the cut. Some of the reasons they decided to stop using GMOs in their food include the lack of studies that show the long-term effects of GMOs and the environmental harm GMOs can influence. In spite of Chipotle’s persuasive reasons to be anti-GMO, there have been studies on both the environmental factors and the long term effects of GMOs. In fact, a twenty nine year study was implicated by Alison Van Eenennaam and Amy E. Young, geneticists with the Department of Animal Science at the University of California-Davis. Van Eenennaam and Young reviewed 29 years of livestock production and health data from both before and after the introduction of GE animal feed. The field data represented more than 100 billion animals (Entine, 1). Their 29 year study showed that there weren’t any indications of unusual trends in the health of the tested animals since 1996, when GMO crops were first commercially available. “Considering the size of the dataset, it can reasonably be said that the debate over the impact of GE feed on animal health is closed: there is zero extraordinary impact,” says Eenennaam and Young. “GE crops with altered output traits for improved livestock feed [are] in the development and regulatory pipeline,” they write. Similarly, a study assessing the global environmental impacts of GM crops for the first seventeen years (1996-2012) of adoption. “This