STS

• Genetically modified organism (GMO)


  An organism created through genetic engineering
• The World Health Organization (WHO) defines GMO as an "organism, either plant, animal, or microorganism, in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating or natural recombination."
• Genetic engineering process on a plant

  1. Cell and tissue culture

  2. DNA extraction and isolation

  3. Cloning and designing genes

  4. Transformation

  5. Plant breeding
• Development of GMOs


  • Perceived to help in the advancement of technology for the benefit of humans in different industries like agriculture and medicine
• Roles of GMOs in food and agricultural industries

  • Pest resistance
  • Virus resistance
  • Herbicide tolerance
  • Fortification
  • Cosmetic preservation
  • Increase growth rate
• Pest resistance


  • Bt Corn
• Virus resistance


  • GM papaya or rainbow papaya
• Herbicide tolerance


  • Roundup Ready soybean
• Fortification


  • Golden Rice
• Cosmetic preservation


  • Arctic Apple
• Increase growth rate


  • AquAdvantage salmon
• GMOs in non-food crops and microorganisms

  • Flower production
  • Paper production
  • Pharmaceutical productions
  • Bioremediation
  • Enzyme and drug production
• Flower production


  • Blue Roses
• Paper production


  • Poplar trees
• Pharmaceutical productions


  • Periwinkle plants
• Bioremediation


  • Shrub tobacco
• Enzyme and drug production


  • CGTase
  • Artemesin
• GMOs in the medical field


  Genetic engineering is playing significant role from diagnosis to treatment of human-dreadea diseases. It helps in the production of drugs, gene therapy, and laboratory researches.
• GMOs in the medical field

  • Humulin, the genetically engineered insulin used by Type 1 diabetes patients
• Benefits of GMOs


  • Higher efficiency in farming
  • Increase in harvest
  • Control in fertility
  • Increase in food processing
  • Improvement of desirable characteristics
  • Nutritional and pharmaceutical enhancement
  • Reduce the use of fertilizer and pesticides
• There are over 400 million acres of GMO farmlands all over the world. The top five countries that operate GMO farmlands are the United States, Brazil, Argentina, India, and Canada.
• Common food with GMOs

  • Kellogg's Corn Flakes
  • Quaker Chewy Granola Bars
  • Ultra Slim Fast
  • Quaker Yellow Corn Meal
  • Alpo Dry Pet Food
• In the animal industries, there are ongoing researches like studies on Pacific salmon that grows twice faster than the native salmon and chicken resistant to H5N1 bird flu viruses. However, these GMO animals are all in research laboratory and not yet approved for public consumption.
• Potential risks of GMOs


  • Inadequate studies on the effects of GMOs to humans and the environment
  • Genetic engineering promotes mutation in organisms which the long term effect is still unknown
  • More allergic reactions
  • Gene mutation
  • Antibiotic resistance
  • Change in nutritional value
• Potential environmental risks caused by GMOs

  • Risk in gene flow
  • Harm to non-target organisms
  • Increased use of pesticides
• Potential environmental risks caused by GMOs

  • Risk in gene flow
  • Emergence of new forms of resistance and secondary pests and weed problems
  • Recombination of Virus and Bacteria to Produce New Pathogens
• Other direct and indirect environmental risks caused by GMOs

  • Introduction of the GMOs in the natural environment may cause disruption of the natural communities through competition or interference
  • Possibility of unexpected behavior of the GMOs in the environment if it escapes its intended use and may post threats or become pest
  • May cause harmful effects to ecosystem processes if GMOs interfere with the natural biochemical cycles
  • Persistence of GMO genes after its harvest which may cause negative impacts to the consumer of GMO products
  • Alteration of agricultural practices like managing negative impacts of GMOs to the environment such as evolution of insects, pests, and weeds that became resistant to GMO crops
  • May have impacts to biodiversity caused by the alteration in agricultural practices
  • May have varied environmental impacts due to GMOs interaction and release in the natural environment
• Worldwide, there are many groups that campaign against GMO food consumption. They encourage people to boycott GMO products and to be vigilant in checking if the food they buy has GMO ingredients
• The Supreme Court in the Philippines has ruled against the use of Bt eggplant, another genetically modified crop
• The World Health Organization reported three major issues on GMOs that are in international public debates: the potential risks of allergic reactions, gene transfer/flow, and outcrossing
• The primary issue on GMOs presented in public debate is its unnatural production or what is termed to be a violation of nature. The creation of new organisms, like GMOs, posts moral issues on defiance to natural laws
• Another concern is the potential risks to the environment and human health, to which so much is unknown yet
• Initiatives for the protection of the general human population regarding the issues and concerns about GMOs

  • The Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex)
  • Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
  • International Trade Agreement on labeling of GM food and food products
• The World Health Organization claims that all GM products that are available in the international market have passed safety assessment by national authorities
• The GMO concern started in the 1990s with the creation of the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines (NCBP) through Executive Order No. 430 of 1990
• In 2002, the Department of Agriculture released Administrative Order No. 8, the guideline for the importation and release into the environment of GM plants and plant products
• The Philippines was marked to be the first country in Asia to approved commercial cultivation of GMOs when GM corn planting was approved in 2002
• From December 2002 to present, there are 70 GMO applications approved by the Department of Agriculture for the release to the environment, 62 GMOs of which are approved for food feed and processing and the remaining 8 were approved for propagation
• In 2004, the Philippines was classified by International Service for acquisition of agri-biotech applications as one of the fourteen biotech-mega countries which grow 50,000 hectares or more of GMO crops annually
• In 2006, the Philippines became part of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety