Genetically Modified Food Town Hall Meeting Report
About 14 concerned governors, scientists and farmers from across Canada debated the development genetically modified food Thursday afternoon at a town hall meeting organized by UBC EOSC department. Though the crowd gathered at UBC farm was small, the concerns raised were varied, ranging from worries about the health effects on human beings and the mass starvation faced by us when the GMO is abandoned.

GMOs are said to be the answer to world overpopulation and over-consumption. Nowadays, the population growth has exceeded the food that can be produced by earth. The change of DNA sequences of crops can efficiently increase the yield and quality of them. Genetically modified foods satisfy our increasing consumption to some extent. Without this biotechnology, mass starvation would likely become a reality. Moreover, crops can be genetically modified to resist diseases and further increases the yield.

The con side of the panel, however, has different opinion on GMOs. With all the benefits of genetically modified food, some uncertainties and risks cannot be neglected. The biotechnology is quite complicated that it is not well understand by the society and its long term effects on human body remains a mystery. GMOs has already been blamed for some unexpected short term health effects.

All of us agree that further research and investigation is necessary to ensure that it is safe to be consumed.

BLOG : https://blogs.ubc.ca/jessicanz/

A genetically modified organism (GMO) or genetically engineered organism is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. (Wikipedia)

Genetically modified organism. (2012, March 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:29, March 21, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Genetically_modified_organism&oldid=482727235

News 1: BASF to Stop Selling Genetically Modified Products in Europe

BASF, the German chemical group has stopped selling genetically modified products including its Amflora potatoin Europe because of the lack of acceptance for this technology by many Europeans. The shut down of marketing this potato will result in great financial loss and many of related jobs will be cut in Europe from the company’s plant science unit. Even so, the company claimed that it would continue marketing its products in the rest of the world. The decision to discontinue selling genetically modified crop by BASF indicates the difficulties for the biotechnology industries in Europe, said Carel du Marchie Sarvaas, a director at EuropaBio, an industry group.

James Kanter (2012, January 12). BASF to Stop Selling Genetically Modified Products in Europe. The New York Times Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/business/global/17ihtgmo17.html?_r=1&ref=geneticallymodifiedfood#

Q1: What effect will GM crops have on the people of the world’s poorest countries?

News 2: Backing for GM food has halved since the 1990s with one in three Brits now opposed to it

A poll commissioned by one of Britain’s scientific bodies found that the public support for GM food has halved since the mid-1990s. Nowadays only 27% of Britons support the genetically modified food while it was about 75% 16 years ago. However, of the rest of 73% people, only about one-third of them fall into opposition and a majority of them suggesting that the genetically modified food is no longer of concern to them. Professor Joyce Tait, a social scientist who studies the impact of scientific advances, said there had been a move towards the middle ground, with answers often being categorized as ‘don’t know’. This, she said, could be interpreted as GM becoming less contentious.

Fiona Macrae. (2012, March 9). Backing for GM food has halved since the 1990s with one in three Brits now opposed to it. The Daily Mail Retrieved from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2112427/Backing-GM-food-halved-1990s-Brits-opposed-it.html

Q2: What do you think of the attitude of the politicians of the Britain in this respect?
Genetically modified organism. (2012, March 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 18:29, March 21, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Genetically_modified_organism&oldid=482727235

The data of current and annual air quality and emissions inventory at different locations in the Lower Fraser Valley are available to the public on this website.

There are only 4 air monitoring stations in the city of Toronto, serving 2.61 million people and covering an area of about 630 km². Therefore each station serves 6.5 million people and represents 156.5 km².

The data on air quality of downtown Toronto station can be found on the website of Ontario. The average annual air quality is good in downtown Toronto according to the Air Quality Index (AQI) Categories. Summer season however, has more moderate air quality days which attributes to fine particles and ozone. On May 31 2011, the overall air quality is moderate. The air was still good during the early morning, but it became worse during the noon with the fine particulate matter level of PM2.5. Fine particulate matter in Ontario is largely made up of aerosols, elemental and organic carbon and soil. Ozone is a major component of the air pollutants of Toronto. High levels typically occur from May to September, between noon and early evening.

Reference：

(Ontario Ministry of the Environment, 2011) http://www.airqualityontario.com/reports/aqisearch.php?stationid=31103&show_day=0&start_year=2011&submitter=Get+AQI+Readings