Commercialization of Genetically Modified Foods Essay

Recently, delegates of famine stricken Southern African nations and representatives from the United States and the European Union came together to resolve issues regarding the acceptance of Genetically modified Food aid from the United States of America. Concerns and complications stemmed from humanitarian, economical, social and political grounds.

Genetically modified crops are an incredibly important issue that everyone should be aware of since it is something we are exposed to at a daily basis. Genetically modified crops also known as GM crops or Biotech crops has been one of the most heated debates of issues within our society. The debate about the safety, concerns and disadvantages of GM crops have raged since the mid 1990 's but this is due to the lack of knowledge of the general public. Many people are unaware of what the GM crops actually are and what they offer. Genetically modified crops are plants that are used in the agriculture and have been modified to initiate a new trait to plants that does not happen naturally in the species. These plants are modified using genetic engineering techniques to enhance desired traits. GM crops are made when genes of commercial interest are transferred from one organism to another.() There are many methods used for the production of GM crops but the two primary used for plant insertion are gene guns and agrobacterium tumefaciens. There are also three types of modifications which are transgenic, cisgenic, and subgenic plants. However, there are a number of issues that surround this controversial topic such as environmental, health, and economic concerns. Even though there are some worrying facts about GM crops people don 't realize the advantages or the ways it has helped humans as well as animals. There are many reasons why GM crops are proven

Genetically modified food’s, or GMOs, goal is to feed the world's malnourished and undernourished population. Exploring the positive side to GMOs paints a wondrous picture for our planet’s future, although careful steps must be taken to ensure that destruction of our ecosystems do not occur. When GMOs were first introduced into the consumer market they claimed that they would help eliminate the world’s food crisis by providing plants that produced more and were resistant to elemental impacts like droughts and bacterial contaminants, however, production isn’t the only cause for the world’s food crisis. Which is a cause for concern because the population on the earth is growing and our land and ways of agriculture will not be enough to feed

Genetically modified crops are harmful to humans and the environment and shouldn't be used. Agriculture should proceed in harmony with nature and nature only. That is why some people have decided to buy organically grown food. From their experiences with organic food, they believe that the organic system can be economically practical. This system also provides a wide range of environmental and social benefits, and most importantly, it enables consumers to make a choice about the food they eat. According to Diana Brander, an American biology teacher, we should have the choice of the type of food we eat.

It has been shown that some GM crops can be less nutritious and possibly toxic in comparison to natural food. Because of this, many large countries such as Japan have put bans on GMO containing foods. GM foods are not labeled in the US and other countries so consumers are not monitored for health conditions that may result from long term use. Some reports have also linked GMO to possible cancers. In addition to the health effects, GMO crop technology can affect smaller farmers and our environment. GM crops are too expensive for the smaller farmers to grow, forcing the smaller farms into debt or off their land. This hurts the economy, as farms are disappearing while large GMO food companies are taking over. In addition, the initial drop in herbicide use on GM crops that was reported has now been followed up with a large increase in use due to the resistance that has developed, and farmers have had to use more and more powerful chemicals on crops. These chemicals are toxic to people, livestock and may possibly contaminate the

However, the use of the GM seeds for food production can quickly render a harmful impact to the user. Lee & Burrell (2002) stated, “Intense concerns about the uncertain health and environmental of GM farming have been the subject of high profile debate. The effects of GM farming on existing forms of agriculture, raised by the prospect of cross-pollination by GM seed, provoke similarly polarized views” It is common that genetic engineering process often takes place by joining different genes of plants together to come up with a whole species of the plant. Unfortunately, this process can easily result in coming up with plants with genes that are harmful to the consumers. Most of the genetically modified food staffs can

Genetically engineered crops in the United States cover almost one quarter of all the cropland. Soybeans, cotton, and corn are the products that tend to be the most modified. GMOs do not only have the purpose of solving world hunger, but also to cure diseases and create vaccines. John and Cheryl talk about Monsanto and DuPont, another big company involved in the production of GMOs. These two companies claim that their products have the purpose of feed the world and at the same time reduce the use of pesticides and stop the production of erosion. Nonetheless, researches have shown that the claims of these companies have no support, since biotechnology has been improving quickly and the current study to prevent bigger mistakes in the future is

No scientific consensus has proven on GMO safety. Eating GMO corn and consuming trace levels of Monsanto's Roundup chemical fertilizer caused rats to develop horrifying tumors, widespread organ damage, and premature death. That's the conclusion of a shocking new study that looked at the long-term effects of consuming Monsanto's genetically modified corn. Those rats became so fat that I could not tell where the paws were. I hate rats but when I looked at that poor animal-it just hurt. “ Many of the genetically modified foods will be safe I’m sure. Will most of them be safe? Nobody knows.” says Jeremy Rifkin. Even critics of GMO food is untested the long term effects unknown. Animas have been dying of organ change after eating GMO foods. We’ve all seen science fiction movies that feature monsters created when lab experiments go wrong. What happens if our GM foods turn into “Frankenfoods”? Scientists worry that the process of creating genetically-modified plants could lead to new allergens, carcinogens, nutritional deficiencies, and toxins that we’re unprepared to confront. It’s taken us decades to clean up after toxins like lead and asbestos, and those were known elements. How are we prepared to deal with the side effects of

Many people feel that genetically modified organisms are unsafe, untested and therefore not something they want in their food or environment. I feel that without the proper studies and research we are putting ourselves in the hands of large corporations that have more of an interest in making money than offering a safe product. I feel it is important to make an informed decision when it comes to products or organisms affecting ourselves or our environment.

The issue of producing and consuming genetically altered foods is controversial. Changing the natural content of plants and animals has negative impacts. For instance, genetically altering the DNA of plants or animals have a possibility to create allergens into a food, which results in allergic reactions. Environmentally, genetically modified crops have disadvantages. Plants can be modified to be pesticides and herbicide tolerant. Hence, when plants are sprayed with chemicals, those chemicals contaminate the surroundings. Besides, the chemicals are toxic to some pollinators, this results in the reduction of pollinators, which contributes to the decrease in genetic diversity in crops. The reduction in genetic diversity of plants disrupts the

Firstly, genetically modified seeds permanently contaminate the environment through cross pollination. It is the nature of plants to cross pollinate and spread their genes, but this means the harmful genes of genetically modified organisms are also being spread. Even organic food cannot be deemed 100% free of genetically modified organisms, because they are potentially contaminated. GMOs are essentially ‘contagious’ but we are unable to quarantine them. This makes it difficult to avoid GMOs by means of an organic diet, and increases the need for labelling. Also, genetically modified seeds do not increase crop yields. Contrary to the belief of many Canadians, they instead work against ending world hunger. The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development report stated that “GMO crop yields were highly variable and in some cases, yields declined. Whereas sustainable non-GMO agricultural methods used in developing countries have conclusively resulted in yield increases of 79% and higher.” (IAASTD, 2009, p.8) Genetically modified organisms serve no beneficial purpose to our environment. Genetically modified organisms serve no beneficial purpose to our

Genetically modified crops have a positive impact on the environment because they limit habitat loss. Although using genetic modification on crops is good for the limitation of the loss of habitat for wildlife, it also benefits humans because it prevents deforestation and the depletion of oxygen. “Bt cotton, for example, has lowered production costs for cotton and led to increased amounts

Most public concern has been focused on human health and safety regarding the use and consumption of these foods, but potential environmental impacts are important to consider as well. Many varieties of genetically engineered crops are intended to decrease the need for chemical pesticides and fertilizers, but the scope of environmental impacts does not stop at chemical usage. Common concerns about GM crops include the effects of cross-pollination, so-called “genetic contamination,” and the escape of GM crops from cultivation and their interactions with native species. Conversely, the environmental benefits of GM crops range from reducing dependence on chemical pesticides to the ability to treat polluted soils with bioremediating plants (Ford, 2004).

With an ever-growing population and the problems of world hunger, there has been a high demand for an increased food supply and a better food supply. Technology has been called upon to meet this challenge. The advent of genetically engineered foods, sometimes called transgenic crops or genetically modified foods, is not a new concept, but the controversy over it is. Can these "frankenfoods" be harmful to humans? What are their effects on the environment? The following paper will focus on such questions as well as providing a better understanding of what genetically modified foods are and how they should be regulated.

According to the World Health Organization (2014. 1), "Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. The technology is often called 'modern biotechnology ' or 'gene technology ', sometimes also 'recombinant DNA technology ' or 'genetic engineering '. Foods produced from or using GM organisms are often referred to as GM foods.” Many organic crops farming farmers are against cultivating of GM crops because of the threat to farm land and environment however, biotechnology companies and GM crops growing famer desire to have profit and consumer look for low price. Thus, the debate over the environmental impact of genetically modified GM crops is growing. Although GM crops negatively affects on some organism in environment, they reduce the use of pesticides and increase crop yield.