“Good FAAAAT” Sheep
By
Tan Ee Lyn, Reuters
Nation
Post
April
24, 2012
Picture: This graphic is of Peng Peng, a clone of
a genetically modified sheep on a farm in Urumqi, China. As you can see it does
not look very healthy, nor does it look like an ordinary sheep…because it’s
not!
Summary:
Sheep in China may be
getting a genetic makeover by scientists. This young sheep, Peng Peng, was only
5.74 kg when born, but is growing very well and is very healthy like a normal
sheep…but it is not. When Peng Peng, was an unfertilized egg, a roundworm fat
gene that is linked to the production of polyunsaturated fatty acids, was
injected into the egg. Then the egg was implanted into the womb of a surrogate
sheep. This genetically modified organism (GMO) was altered because the gene
from the worm will now increase unsaturated fatty acids in sheep, which is very
good for human health. However, there are concerns over genetically modified
foods, and it will be some time before this sheep finds its way into the
Chinese food market. It is very crucial that transgenic food is harmless and
safe for consumption. The United States though is already ahead of the GMO
game, a genetically modified salmon is already on food market shelves. Altering
genes may be the new thing in the future for food consumption.
Opinion:
I
believe that genetically modified anything is morally incorrect and dangerous.
One, the animals have no say, control or opinion on how the experiments are
affecting them. Also, I believe nature is meant to be the way it is and if
scientists participate in and create these experiments, they are going against
nature. The only thing I am happy to see out of this practice is that the
consumption of these animals is strictly monitored so it is safe to consume. I
found in the articles that, here in the US, genetically modified salmon are on
the shelves of supermarkets. My family and I eat salmon all the time and I did
not know about this until I wrote this blog. Therefore, food companies should
make it more widely known that these are not natural salmon. Overall, I think
this practice is disgusting and wrong.
Questions:
1. Do you think it is morally correct for
organisms to be genetically modified? Why?
2. Should these genetically modified organisms be
available for purchase and consumption without public knowledge?
3. In what ways could this practice go wrong, such
as in nature, disease, etc.?
4. Do you think humans are genetically modified
organisms? (surgery, vaccines, etc.)
Opinion/Reflection
ReplyDeleteEven though genetically modified sheep are said to have more polyunsaturated fats, I still can not fully trust it. Other as yet undiscovered issues may well arise. Right now, reproduction problems in humans have been greater than ever. These things could eventually effect me. I could get cancer or my child could have a disorder. Though there are many other possible causes of the problem, the fact that America has done more with genetically altered food is something that needs to be studied much more extensively than has yet been the case. I would personally prefer the surer, safer approach—get my unsaturated fat from natural food. Also, the scientists are putting a lot of sheep through pain. The sheep in the picture seems to be on the brink of death, and I think it would be more humane were it just to be killed. For the time, I would not support more use of genetically altered sheep and other meats.
Question
2. Should these genetically modified organisms be available for purchase and consumption without public knowledge?
I think it should be known to the public whether or not something has been genetically modified. I do not mind if researchers genetically modify sheep—or any other animal—it is their privilege. I just also believe it is my right to know what I am eating and how it was created. This awareness was never really an issue before, but now it is. Some people would not mind eating the sheep and others might. Knowledge would just give a person informed choice.
Opinion/Reflection
ReplyDeleteAltering animals seems cruel and immoral. The animals have no say in what happens to them. We just take them and alter them because we need more food. The genetically altered sheep also looks disgusting and sick, given it's yellow skin. I doubt that a sheep would want to look like that, and it probably has many diseases. It was born with a incredibly low weight, which is unhealthy. We should not genetically alter sheep, or any other animals, as it also messes with the environment and natural selection. We learned about how animals have been affected by humans in class, and this goes along with that. We are disrupting natural selection because now the sheep are being disrupted by us. Future generations of sheep might not look the same (they will have the yellow skin like the sheep in the picture), and at that point scientists have messed up the sheep.
Question 3
This could alter natural selection, as we are interfering with the sheep in ways that we should not be. Sheep are not meant to be genetically altered, and if all normal sheep disappear we will only have altered sheep left, which is not good as it would decrease biodiversity. However, if the normal sheep survive, we can have increased biodiversity, which is a good thing. Disease could spread from this as there could be some hidden bacteria in the needle when they inject the egg with stimulants for 'better' meat.
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting and surprised me very much. I never knew that people and companies were doing this to animals. I think that is it good that people are trying to make food for humans healthier. Also this doesn’t seem that it harms any animals as far as I know which is also a good thing. I also think that this is not a good thing to be doing though. People are just changing the genes of animals and don’t know the consequences. For all we know there can be some bad side effects. What surprised me a lot was the salmon. I never knew that the United States was selling GMO salmon, which regular day people buy.
Answer to question 1.
I personally do not think that it is correct for scientists to genetically modify organisms. One is that the animals have no say in this. Even though they can’t talk we shouldn’t be experimenting on them freely. If I were being experimented on I would hate it and not want it to happen to me. Also scientists should just leave animals the way they are and be happy with it. Nature made animals the way they are and shouldn’t be changed. That is what I think of genetically modified animals.
Opinion:
ReplyDeleteI am really surprised to hear about making genetically modified animals like Peng Peng the sheep. This is the first time I have ever heard of success in this field of science which was an even more big surprise. I remember reading an article about scientist trying to bring back extinct species and the connection it has with genetically modifying animals. What I see with these two things is that they both seem wrong to do. What I mean by this is that these practices mess around with the organisms as well as the laws of nature. I believe we should not mess around with nature or things in nature because it is dangerous for the organism and possibly nature too. I see that it could be potentially dangerous for nature because there are possibilities of the modified organism disrupting an environment. Also from what I can see I think that this type of practice may make chimeras. In some Greek mythology and scientific videos I have seen chimeras being really distorted because of human hands. What scientists are doing now with sheep’s like Peng Peng seems like just a step they may have into this. However even though a lot of it seems bad there is one good thing. The one good thing is that scientist seems to be careful about this experimentation and not going overboard with it. Even though it seems like a success I believe it is wrong to do this type of practice.
Question 4:
I think that humans are not genetically modified organisms but some maybe. What I mean by this is that humans are born with genes from their parents this showing that there are no genetic modifications. However, two years ago I learned from a teacher that parents can actually change and develop what kind of eye color, hair, etc. there baby could have. This got my attention to see that yes there indeed are some humans that could be genetically modified. I see this as very wrong though because it seems like we cannot accept the human for what he/she is. This also applies to the genetically modified animals because it seems awful to see changing up something living just so you can witness something you will like or desire. In cases of vaccines and surgery I think that humans are still not genetically modified. I think this because the genes we have are inside our bodies and it is just that something is added into our bodies which our genes will accept. I think it does not modify anything in our body other than protecting it or helping it.