Genetic Engineering of Garcinia - Essay Example

? of the paper s INTRODUCTION Genetically modified or genetically engineered organisms or plants, from the scientific point of view, are exceptionally fascinating. In market analysis genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) have shown immense projection for growth and profit. Today, we have many such genetically engineered products in the market for example Bt brinjal, flavr savr tomato etc. One of many such modified plants is Garcinia Cambogia. Garcinia cambogia is a species from the Guttiferae family. Garcinia Cambogia is a natural appetite suppressor. It suppresses appetite by increasing the level of serotonin in the blood supply. Research studies also show that this plant is capable of preventing lipid accumulation in the body thereby helping in weight loss. Garcinia’s applauded ability to help fat people shed weight is due to the presence of a highly active chemical known as hydroxycitric acid. GENETIC ENGINEERING OF GARCINIA Natural Garcinia has a certain concentration of the active chemical. However, with the accelerating percentage of people turning towards Garcinia for easy weight loss has been the main focus of genetic engineers. The rind of the fruit was used to make medicinal extracts. Genetic engineers have modified the plant such that the active chemical is now produced in the rind as well as in the endosperm (pulp) of the fruit Toxicology trials Trials were conducted on animals (rabbits). No serious condition was noticed in animal trials. Mild ocular irritation occurred when the extract was given in the right eye (Ohia et al,2002), however no literature so far suggest that the extract causes any health problems in humans. LOWER COST TO FARMERS Traditionally the agriculture industry has been the best supporter and beneficiary from innovative technology. Interbreeding and natural selection of plant traits have been a common method to grow naturally modified crops for better yield and plant characters. However, the same technique in the laboratory has been developed paving way for the much debated genetically modified crops. Genetically modified crops are not only important to science and researchers but are of immense importance to the farmers as well. The growth projection of GMO’s is directly proportional to the profits of farmers growing the GMO’s. Contrary to the most common perception that growth of genetically modied organisms or plants are anti-democratic in nature, studies and surveys have established that growing these GMO’s are in fact much more beneficial than growing the ordinary forms of the same crop or plants.”In countries where farmers are allowed to grow GM crops, they increasingly choose to do so. In 2010, 15.4 million farmers in 29 countries cultivated GM crops” (James,2010). Growing Garcinia Cambogia will also be equally beneficial to the farmers given that the market demand for the plant is extremely high. Firstly, cultivating Cambogia with the help of genetically engineered seeds would increase the yield. This yield will be much more than that obtained while cultivating Cambogia with the help of ordinary, non-modified seeds of the plant. This helps the farmers obtain much more profit from the same amount of money spend on seeds. Secondly, the genetically modied Garcinia cambogia is resistant to insects, weeds and other pests. Studies have shown that farmers spend a lot on necessary farm products such as weedicides and pesticides. Most genetically modified crops do not need these harmful chemicals for protection. It was seen in a study that “by 2009, the usage of GM crops had reduced pesticide spraying by 393 million kg of active ingredients, the equivalent of decreasing 17.1% of the global pesticide use (Brookes & Barfoot,2011) While cultivating non-modified variety of Garcinia cambogia, farmers needs to use a lot of money on purchasing these chemicals. However, in case a farmer utilizes the genetically modified seed to cultivate a modified form of insect and weed resistant Garcinia, the money spent on purchasing the chemicals will be eliminated. Hence, the total cost of purchasing insecticides, herbicides etc will become unnecessary and will add to the profit of the farmers. Thirdly, studies have shown that farmers adopting the practice of GM crop cultivation have had increased profits for a given area of land. It was seen that for a given acre of land GM Soy helped obtain a value of $208.42 while the same dimension of land produced a lesser value of $191.05 when non-modified crops are cultivated (Economic Research Services,2000). GM cultivation is not only directly beneficial for the farmers but indirectly aids in the development of the farmer as well. The money saved by cultivating cambogia or the profit obtained from the productivity will help the farmer get additional fund not only to increase his own standard of living but also help develop his farm by purchasing new and better equipments and add more farm animals etc. Therefore evidences support the contention that the adoption of GM crops leads on average to a higher economic performance, i.e., benefits, for farmers than conventional (non-GM) crops (Finger et al, 2011). CULTURAL PERCEPTION Science alone or rather scientists or researchers alone do not comprise of the society. When an innovation or a innovative technology is introduced the common population and community must be a receiver and an adopter to help that innovation or that technology succeed. If a certain population or a community is not receiving a product well it leads to failure of the product altogether whereas if the product is received well the rate of adoption of that product gradually increases over a certain period of time. Most of the people have do not have enough knowledge about genetically engineered products and plants while most of the facts available to them are rather misleading and sometimes contradictory to the reality of genetically modified crops or food. “In a democratic society where choice exists, people will not consume foods that they associate with some negative attribute” ( Frewar et al,2004) and most people have a presumption about GM food which in most cases not accurate. One of most common problems before adopting a GM crop is the perception that it is not traditional. Adopting a modified cambogia will be difficult at first since it will not be traditional. Most people fear the essence of something new not because of anything else but because of the fact that the new is often unknown. Next, people often have a false concept that GM crops are grown with the help of fertilizers. There is dearth of knowledge about the difference between a GM crop and an organic crop. It must be noted that most of the GM crops are resistant to pests and the very minute percentage of plants requiring addition of chemical fertilizer require the chemical compounds in extremely minutes quantities. This is where the media needs to play a pivotal role i.e. to highlight the key characteristics of GM crops and differentiate between organic crops and GM crops. People are also hesitant because of the fear that GM crops may have on their health. Since Garcinia is taken for health purposes it needs to be ingested. However, if GM Garcinia camobogia is introduced the percentage of people opting for the GM version at first would be low since most people will be unsure about the possible side effects or other health effects that GM crops may have on the health of a person or on the human body itself. When Garcinia is modified the clear green coloration of the fruit gives way to a brighter green which looks rather artificial to people who know the fruit really well. Often many people who procure the fruit directly are drawn to the freshness and the fresh coloration of the fruit. However given to the fact that many modified foods have been accepted, proper fact channelization about modified cambogia should not be a problem. Once people realize the benefits of the modified form and that it would not have any effects at all on its weight reduction property, the demand curve will not dip. COMMERCILIZATION OF GM GARCINIA In today’s world to promote a innovative technology such as genetically modified crops or organisms it is necessary that private sector scientific research works hand in hand with commercial and market research. This is extremely necessary so that the stakeholders of such innovations can make the entire process of transfer, development and implementation of the technology a much more transparent procedure. Also, this will enable informed and responsible diffusion of the technology. Since some private companies sell the extracts of the rind of the Garcinia fruit proper labeling of the products from the modified variety must be mentioned to endure that people get a choice. CONCLUSION GM crops as a whole is an extremely sensitive subject matter. However properly oriented media information can help highlight the benefits of cultivating Garcinia cambogia without the fear of negative health impacts. It must be understood that even though Garcinia in its natural form is a highly wanted product the moment the public comes to know that it has been genetically modified to some extent the demand curve is bound to dip. The most important thing to do here is to diffuse the right and accurate information about the technology to the general population in order to ensure that each individual has a clear notion about the GM crop and its benefits. Gm crops are one of the most innovative applications of scientific and genetic knowledge and have great potential given market analysis and media play their rightful role. REFERENCES Brookes, G., & Barfoot, P. (2011). GM crops: global socio-economic and environmental impacts. Retrieved from http://www.pgeconomics.co.uk/page/29/sustainable,-profitable-and-productive-agriculture-continues-to-be-boosted-by-the-contribution-of-biotech-crops Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, (2000). Genetically Engineered Crops for Pest Management (2000). . Finger et al, R. (2011). A Meta Analysis on Farm-Level Costs and Benefits of GM Crops.Sustainability, 3, 743-762. Frewer et al, L. (2004). Societal aspects of genetically modified foods. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 4, 1181-1193. James, C. (2010). Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2010. ISAAA-brief 42. Ohia et al, S. E. (2002). Safety and mechanism of appetite suppression by a novel hydroxycitric acid extract (HCA-SX). and Cellular Biochemistry,, 238, 89-103. Read More