By Emily Hazell

Papaya
Why is it used, What is its
purpose?
Genetically modified papayas
are used so papayas are virus
resistant. In the 1990s the
Papaya Ringspot (PR) viruses
caused more than 50% of the
papayas in Hawaii to be lost
within 6 years as they had this
infection. The virus kept
spreading, and caused the
Papayas to lead to a drastic
loss of produce. What the virus
does is that it compromises the
photosynthetic abilities of the
upper leaves of the tree. This
leads to stunted growth, and
poor fruit quality, and ultimately
causes the plant to die.
Genetically modified Papayas
have been very successful in
Hawaii and in 2010 already 80%
of their papayas grown are
genetically modified. The
Genetically modified papayas
are approved in US and must
countries, but not yet in Europe.

What are the positive impacts of this biotechnology on society?
Biotechnology in our society potentially can prevent food shortages in our
world and cause improvements in medicine, agriculture and veterinary
sciences. It can increase the yield, resulting in lower prices so more income
for the farmers. Also it is very healthy for people to eat papaya, and without it
being genetically modified, a lot of people wouldnt be able to eat the fruit.
Another positive aspect of GM papayas is that it needs fewer pesticides for
growing and the nutritional value is healthier.
The negative impacts of this biotechnology on society The long-term
health effects of GM papayas have not been studied and will only be known
after decades of consumption by mass populations, which could possible
lead to being negative. It has a shorter shelf life which could cause problems
in some places.

By Emily Hazell