Futuristic Science and Technology BEFORE READING 1 What do you know about genetically-manipulated organisms (GMOs)? Are they concerned with plants, animals, or both? 2 What is your opinion, if any, about GMOs ? GeneticallyManipulated Organisms (GMOs) Man has always tried to manipulate the species under his control in order to make them more useful to his needs. For example, the wolf has been gradually transformed into the dog of today; the wild boar has become today s pig; the tiny wild wood strawberry has been transformed into a large, heart-shaped fruit; the ancient 2-cm ear of wild corn is now 20 cm long with bite-sized kernels. Over thousands of years, Man has achieved this by crossbreeding similar species until he obtained the desired result. Today, genetic engineering has accelerated this process enormously. Nowadays the genetic structure of a plant or an animal can be changed so as to remove undesirable characteristics (such as no resistance to certain diseases) and insert desirable ones (such as larger size). While traditional methods were only possible using organisms of similar species, it is now possible to remove DNA from one species and insert it into a totally different species: for example, potatoes have been modified with genes from bees and moths to make the potatoes resistant to the potato blight fungus that can destroy them; corn has been modified by inserting genes from a common soil bacterium so that the plants manufacture their own insecticide; Atlantic salmon have been genetically engineered with growth genes from other fish in order to make them reach market size in about half the usual time; genes have been inserted into cows and sheep so that they produce antibiotics in their milk. The resulting organisms are called transgenic ; since the mid-1990s biotech plants have been used on a large scale in the soybeans, corn and oils that go into processed foods (like ready-made pizza, potato chips, ice cream, salad dressing) in countries like Argentina, Canada, China, South Africa, Australia, the U.S., Germany and Spain. Those who are for biotechnology and those who are against it agree on only one thing: biotechnology is in its infancy. Those who are for it say that transgenic foods can help feed the developing world, where poor farming conditions and low-tech practices do not produce enough food. They say that genetically-built-in insecticides will dramatically module 8 Unit reduce chemical spraying, that better nutrition will result from transgenic foods because foods low in protein or vitamins can be engineered to make them higher in these nutrients and other foods can have allergens or natural toxins removed. Those who are against biotechnology say that the risks are too great; we do not yet know the long-term effects of this technology. It could be dangerous to health; there may be gene flow problems: genetically-modified crops could spread altered genes to non-modified crops, reducing genetic diversity and creating organisms that cannot be controlled. Transgenic crops may create insects resistance to the builtin pesticides; toxin build-up in the soil could have a negative effect on soil ecosystems; allergens not present in the non-modified food could be introduced into modified versions by accident. ACTIVITIES 1 After reading Text 1, answer the following questions. a. What did you learn about GMOs that you didn t know before? b. Give some examples of GMOs from the text and any others you may know about. c. Discuss the points for and against GMOs; add any other points you can think of. Express your own opinion on them.