Controversy Surrounding Gmo And The Food Industry

GM foods are in the middle of many controversial issues; primarily these are addressed by conflicts over the relative pros and cons of GM foods. Major biotech companies like ‘Monsanto ' and ‘Cargill ' are promoting GM foods by focusing only on their beneficial aspects, giving least importance to their negative effects on safety, environment and biodiversity. On the other hand, governmental regulators and nongovernmental organizations, along with some scientists, are strictly opposing this type of blind promotion of GM food by enlightening the people on their negative effects The controversies associated with GM foods include issues such as safety, environmental benefits and risks, biodiversity, and ethical and social considerations.GM foods are implicated for adverse human health risks like people being allergic to it, environmental hazards such as development of super weeds, and pesticide and antibiotic resistance in disease causing organisms. On the other

GMOs stand for genetically modified organisms. GMOs have organisms which have DNA that is mixed with another gene from another species to make a trait that will benefit the crop.

While the agricultural world is working hard to make positive influences on more efficient farming, individuals have treated GMO’s as a negative alteration in their produce. Farmers and researchers in the agricultural world claim no harm can be done by them. GMO’s have not yet been proven to be harmful to humans and have, in fac,t had a positive impact on the food industry today.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the use of genetic modification in foods grown for human consumption. Many opponents suggest that genetically modified (GM) foods can affect human growth and development, increase allergic reactions in persons with allergy sensitivity or cause allergies to develop in healthy people. Proponents of using genetically modified organisms to alter and improve foods claim that there are no health risks to humans and that GM foods are subjected to stricter guidelines and testing than “naturally” grown food. They also claim that genetic modification of food is necessary to produce more drought tolerant, insect and disease resistant crops that can sustain the earth’s growing human population. A recent survey conducted suggests that public opinion is evenly divided on whether or not GMOs should be used in foods for human consumption. This paper looks to discuss the pros and cons of GMOs in food and the reported effects, if any, on human growth and development.

In this unit, the two periods of biology studied and learned more about GMO’s. We looked into things such as breeding and eugenics and how exactly it relates to the overall action of genetically modifying organisms. A genetically modified organism is the result of a gene from one organism, purposefully being changed to improve another organism. According to americanradioworks, organisms were being manipulated dating all the way back to prehistoric times to the 1900s. Farmers and naturalists began to notice “hybrid” plants, being produced through natural breeding. In 1900, European plant scientist began using Gregor Mendel's genetic theory to manipulate plants to produce a more desirable outcome. This means that Organisms have been getting genetically modified for years. Although the event of this action dates back for years, controversies are still shared in classrooms and homes, about whether GMOs are a necessary part of today’s life.

In December 2014, a Harvard professor wrote an article outlining the many benefits of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and why it is a good idea to use them. This professor is now surrounded by controversy because he failed to note his connection to the largest producer of GM seeds, Monsanto, who not only told him to write the article but also gave him the major points he was to address. Why was this such a huge deal, and why did Monsanto want a pro-GMO article out there so badly? The GMO debate is largely controversial, but largely misunderstood because of the misinformation given by biased writers, such as John Hibma, a nutritionist and author who wrote the article “More Pros Than Cons.” What many people do not realize is that genetic modification is a serious issue and that articles like Hibma’s fail to disclose the truth about the numerous health, crop, and environmental concerns surrounding GMOs.

There was a serious infection of orange tree in Florida called citrus greening. There was a bacteria known as C. Liberibacter asiaticus that cause scourges inside the trees and spread through insects. They already tried every way to destroy the root, such as chopped down hundreds of thousands of infected trees and sprayed pesticides, but it was no use.

One of my favorite episodes of the television show, "The Simpsons", begins with Marge, the mother, serving her family a dinner of unusually large, genetically modified foods. Shortly after dinner is served, one of the potatoes eats a carrot. Although this example is comedic hyperbole, it is still an excellent illustration of the public perception of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as dangerous "Frankenfoods". This perception is out of touch with the reality of GMOs and runs contrary to a large body of scientific evidence that indicates that GMOs are safe for people and our environment.

The genetic engineering of foods has, in one sense, been in existence for hundreds of years. The first time Gregor Mendel bred different varieties of pea plants to observe the various traits present in their offspring, the concept was born. Today, genetic engineering has developed into one of the most complex and advanced fields of scientific thinking, all the while provoking many questions and acquiring many opponents along the way. While there are compelling arguments presented for each side of the issue, the simple fact is that genetically modified (GM) foods are a reality, especially in the United States, as they are already present in many products that are consumed on a daily

Upwards of 75% of food grown in the United States is genetically modified. Meaning that there DNA has been changed to help a specific purpose. There has been a lot of controversy over GMO production. In Europe, GMOs have heavy restrictions or outright bans depending on the country; as of October 3rd, 19 countries have out right banned the cultivation of GMO products. GMO productions should have stricter restrictions with the U.S. government because the health consequences are largely unknown, GMO products are unlabeled and they pose a threat to farmers in their fight against large companies.

Genetically modifying food has caused many controversy around the world for the way foods are modified. Most of the food we eat are canned, fresh, and ready to be eaten. Most of the food has also been genetically modified. Although modifying food has been used for many years, many countries have not adapted or want to genetically modify their foods. Genetically modifying food is a good and bad thing but there will always be different opinions about genetically modifying food, but one thing is for sure, genetically modifying food will increase more and more.

Genetically modified food is a topic of intensive debate that has caused a lot of controversy over the years, basically due to a lack of knowledge about genetic engineering and large amounts of misleading information within mass media. Genetically modified foods have recently gathered more attention since environmental and health organizations have actively rejected genetically modified foods for various reasons. Genetically modified foods have the ability to resolve problem of famine and malnutrition in the world, also produce greater yields, decrease pesticides and herbicides usage, and improve the nutritional value of food. While the benefits of GMOs to our society have been widely discussed, their effect on our health is still a controversial

GMO food has long been in the focus of heated debates among both scientists and common consumers.Controversial nature of gene-altering has given rise to a world-wide movement against GMO food.Many states have forbidden GMO food growing,but the great GMO dispute is likely going to escalate considering the current food crisis.

GMO stands for a genetically modified organism. Through the use of biotechnology, we are able to produce genetically modified crops that are resistant to disease, have better yields, have more bio-available nutrients, etc. The first genetically modified crop was planted in the 1994 and today, approximately ten percent of the world’s agricultural fields are genetically modified (Chassy, Parrott, and Ruff, 2015). However, there is global controversy over if there are harmful affects of consuming foods that have been genetically modified in some way and how those foods should be labeled. In the United States, it is not required to label foods that contain any GMO’s. Europe has a large consumer push for the right to know what is in their food and because of this, the Europe Commission has passed labeling laws for GMO’s containing or not containing foods.

Citrus greening disease, also commonly referred to as Huanglongbing, is a much newer disease to Florida than citrus canker. Although the bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, has been an issue in China since the 1900’s, it did not arrive in the US until 2005 (“Citrus Greening”). The disease is spread through its primary vector, an insect called the Asian citrus psyllid. Symptoms, which include yellow mottling of leaves, small, green, and misshapen fruit, and poor yields, may not appear until several years after a tree is infected. Citrus greening is such an important issue currently because, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, “other than tree removal, there is no effective control once a tree is infected and there is no known cure for the disease” (“Citrus Greening”). To date, revenue loss caused by citrus greening disease exceeds $3.6 billion (“Citrus Greening”). Although importing a race of orange that is resistant to greening may be helpful, the imported plants must first make it through inspection and quarantine.