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The Political Impact of GMOs

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The debate over the risks that are associated with GMO's has been in the counsel for almost three decades now. The risks debate could be traced back to the early era of 1975 in California when a research was conducted over a recombinant DNA in Asilomar (California). However the central debate has been focusing on the GM technology as a whole and in particular the Gm crops and foods have been in the news for such risk concerns and debates. It has been a general tendency that whenever a new technology is born, the general public associates their concerned benefits pattern and risk association with it in their own ways. The same risk perception make it viable for the mass community to either accept the challenge of risk and continue with the product or in some cases let go of it entirely for the safe execution of their risk perceptions. In the case of the genetically modified organisms the element of risks can be divided into two extremes. One of which is the ethical or religious dilemma that bounces around with the statements and claims such as "playing with or tampering with the nature  accusations and the other is related to the consequences of the application or a more common word for that would be the "perceived risk  (Frewer and Shepherd, 1995). Genetic engineering as a whole and in particular GM technology food is considered to be under the dreadful risk category and therefore it is analyzed in the extreme category of perceived risk as well. However in the case of Gm technology, genetically modified medicines are considered to be among the less dreadful category as their exposure to the subjects is considered to be voluntary and their substantial benefit is anticipated by the patients in the short run of their usage (Finucane, 2002). Psychological Considerations and Sociological Effects Psychological and sociological factors are of vital importance in the food habits of the humans. Most people consider the readily availability of the food as a satisfying gesture for them in terms of the security concerns of its usage. However for those individuals who suffer from a psychological eating disorder such readily availability of food does not qualify for their security concerns of their food. It is a general aim for all the firms to put the secure labels on their foods advertisement and promotional campaign to avoid any possible hiccups and security accusations in the long run. It is vital to promote and encourage a sense of security and comfort among their consumers towards their particular product or products. Such psychological and sociological concerns arise for the foods and crops that are engineered by using a genetically modified technology or GMO's. The concept of GMO's has been in the news for many years but their acceptability and acknowledgement has never been that much gradual over the period of time and people are not accepting it entirely as a global phenomena. Some people fear these products because of the lack of knowledge about its constitution and other nutrition capability while others reject it for moral values and riskiness grounds. Hybridization use to take up years in the past where the best of the best in the plants were either cross breaded in the plant livestock's and as well as in the fishery world to achieve its desired outcomes. However with the advents of the modern technology, especially that of the GM technology, it is possible to avoid such traditional ways which were time consuming and cumbersome. The new age of genetic engineering started by isolating the DNA of one bacterium and combining it with the DNA of other bacterium and further duplicating it. The newer process is considered to be less time consuming as compared with the past. It is now possible with this technology that the engineers extract the DNA with a desired trait and further enhance the productivity by combining it into the cells of other plants and animals to produce more crops and foods. The desired goal is to produce more food or improved species of the existing class. The U.S Agriculture's department goal with such genetic engineering is to produce for efficient food with improved resistance to pests and to enhance and elaborate more nutritious plants and animals product. Such genetic engineering has made it possible to produce improved protein content in grains, make such potatoes that extract less fat when fried, apples that are capable of resisting pests and more than 50 new plant and animal products. One common example would be the "flavr savr" tomatoes that softens at a slower rate because of engineered enzymes that extends its ripening time period. Squash those are totally resistant to a common plant virus, cereal without strings, tomatoes which are resistant to both cold and hot temperatures and presweetened melons are some of other genetically engineered foods which are in prominent usage in most parts of the world. There is also possible identification of particular genes from w

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