Environmental Science Of High School

The article “Not in my fridge” by Jeffery M. Smith elaborately discussed the health hazards of genetically modified (GM) products. This article has opened my eyes and revealed my ignorance of how unmindful of what I have eaten for years. I was very alarmed by many of the things I have learned in this article. After learning the side-effect of GM food, I was certainly concerned for our health. Moreover, learning that the biotech company’s strong stand in advocate of GM products as well as the United States governments and the Food and Drug administration (FDA) cover up of serious safety issues of GM highly disturbed me.

There are loads of different ways that we as humans affect the world and the environment we live in. Some things that we do can not only change and affect the environment but can also affect our health.

A growing number of foods we intake on a daily basis are composed of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). DNA from other kinds of organisms, bacteria, or viruses are used to change the DNA of GMOs so that they can counteract pesticides. According to Bill Freese, “GMOs are present in 60 to 70 percent of foods on US supermarket shelves” (1) . Not only is the food itself a problem, but the method of growing GMOs can potentially harm the soil, in turn decreasing bio-diversity. Purchasing non genetically modified foods is a better decision. Despite the convenience of junk food, anyone can live a healthier lifestyle by making an effort to eat non gmo, raw, organic, and vegan foods.

The dangers of the food industry need to be revealed to the public so that people can live healthier lifestyles. For this to be done, the food companies need to start labeling what is in their food. There are numerous harmful chemicals and hormones found in the food we consume, and there needs to be more awareness of what society is recklessly ingesting. A two-year study on the effects of genetic mutation on mice was published on September 19th, 2011 in Food and Chemical Toxicology. In the experiment, the mice consumed corn that was sprayed with Roundup, the food company, Monsanto’s brand of weed killer, or drank water with levels of Roundup that are similar to what is found in U.S. tap water. The shocking results revealed that the mice

“Eat your vegetables, they're good for you”, The words a kid never wants to hear. People scan food packages for whole grains and fibers, avoid sugar, and don’t even think about buying something with trans fats. Just when people thought they knew how to eat healthy, there's another problem: Genetically Modified Organisms. Some opponents would have you believe these ingredients are the dietary curse of the decade. How concerned should people really be though? This is one of the most debated questions around the world. Many environmental organizations protest against genetic engineering, but numerous companies continue to use it in food production. The issue of Genetically Modified foods has been investigated by many different scientists for many

Whether Americans realize it or not, most of them consume genetically modified organisms every time they eat a snack or a meal. According to Robin Mather’s article “The Threats from Genetically Modified Foods”, “you’re eating genetically modified foods almost daily unless you grow all of the food or always buy organic” (Mather). This can be a scary thought for those who know about the numerous effects of GMOs or those who didn’t know what was in the food they’ve been ingesting for years. When Nielsen selected 1,200 Americans for a survey on GMOs for The Wall Street Journal, “61% of consumers had heard of GMOs and nearly half of those people said they avoid eating them” (Gasparro). The only difficulty with avoiding genetically modified organisms is that they make up approximately eighty percent of the ingredients used in processed foods that put together most of the regular American diet (Gasparro). The reason that genetically modified organisms are in most processed foods is because most processed foods contain corn or high fructose corn syrup that comes from genetically modified corn plants. Of all the corn, soybeans, sugar beet, and canola crops grown in the United States, over ninety percent of those crops are grown from genetically altered seeds (Gasparro). Ever since 1996, when genetically modified plants were first commercially grown for the public, the use of genetically modified seeds has been on a sharp increase (Charman). Although the use of genetically modified

As Gliessman, an agricultural researcher, says in Agroecology, “conventional agriculture is built around two related goals: the maximization of production and the maximization of profit. In pursuit of these goals, a host of practices have been developed without regard for their unintended, long-term consequences” (3). The industrial food industry has created a process to produce as many crops as possible in the quickest amount of time to put onto the market. The several ways utilized to achieve these goals are those that are harmful to the consumer. Two main threats are genetic modification, and chemicals. These issues are a spark of concern in addressing the health of consumers. Food industries often try to tantalize their audience with the promise of untouched, pristine produce when in reality these foods are heavily tainted by pesticides or are genetically modifieds. “One will find this obliviousness represented in virgin purity in the advertisements of the food industry, in which food wears as much makeup as the actors. If one’s whole knowledge of food from these advertisements, one would not know that the various edibles were ever living creatures, or that they all come from the soil… “ (Berry 147). People are informed little about the pesticides that we often ingest from products like these and little do people know the negative effects of GMOs.

The film discusses Monsanto, a large multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation, at length. The film mentions Roundup, a product produced by Monsanto, but doesn’t go into detail about the effect Roundup has on human health. “We started to hear rumblings about genetically engineered soybeans that could resist the application of Roundup, and when Roundup is sprayed over the top of it, it killed every weed out there except for this ‘Roundup ready’ soybean.” says a farmer that was interviewed for the film. The film continues to go in depth regarding how Roundup contaminates other farmer’s seeds and how Monsanto then sues the farmers for “stealing”, but the film never discusses the truly terrifying health problem GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms) can produce. Alexis Baden-Mayer, a woman who is a part of the Organic Consumers Association, said in an article for ecowatch.com that Roundup can create dozens of serious health problems. The health problems include ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, Anencephaly, Autism, birth defects, brain cancer, breast cancer, celiac disease, chronic kidney disease, Colitis, depression, diabetes, heart disease, and many more. Focused too much on the politics of Monsanto, the film failed to explain the true concern involved with Monsanto’s

The last few years American’s have been the center of attention when it comes to an example of unhealthy living. In 2013 obesity became recognized as a disease in order to help aid the fight for a healthy future. Fingers are being pointed at every company and government branch possible on who is to blame for the current crisis. One thing people are able to agree on is that the food we are eating is the main cause of the health crisis in America. At the heart of this debate is the discussion on genetically modified organism, or GMO foods.

The author describes a global food revolution that began years ago from New York and Paris to London and Toronto. Consumers are becoming aware of the food they are purchasing at their local grocery store and realizing the grocery store is just a facade. Many small time organic farms started disappearing because of the mass producing large scale industrial farms which became possible after the industrial revolution. Large scale industrial farms are producing food in large quantities with low quality while polluting the earth and harming consumers because they are focused on one thing: profit. It makes it difficult for grocery stores to say no to these industrial farms just because of how cheap and convenient their product is. It also allows the grocery stores to supply produce year-round that normally would not be in season in a specific area. The sustainable factors and health of the consumers and the planet were of no concern when it came to higher produce yields and lower costs for both the conventional industrial farms and grocery stores. In 1996, industrial farms introduced genetically modified crops to increase yields and make more profit. Since then, more than 70% of foods produced contain genetically altered ingredients which has led to consumers being more prone to illnesses like cancer, diabetes, and obesity. This idea from Food and the City makes me furious because there are so many processed foods today that are hard to get away from. Mass industrial farms and manufacturers have found ways to extend food’s shelf life and alter the basic ingredients that would normally be considered healthy. With all of the additives, who knows what the food actually is and the harm it could do to your

Due to the rigorous testing of GMFs to make sure they are not toxic, the government has approved several genetically based foods since 1994. While we are constantly being told that their testing is thorough, very little long-term testing has been carried out to understand what possible effects they could have on both the environment or human health (refer to the article Genetically Modified Crops Safety Assessments: Present Limits and Possible Improvements for more information on the matter). Moreover, the fact that it takes ten years to approve a genetically engineered food should make us feel comfortable, but overall there are still varying results in relation to long-term effects of these foods. The citizens with this knowledge are uncomfortable when buying foods, as they do not know which products to avoid. There are 64 countries that have already made GMF labelling a legal requirement, while other countries (such as the United States) have recently passed this

Global health is detrimental to maintaining a healthy world for future generations. Our everyday meals impact our physique, as well as our health as we get older. With the increase in GMOs, our food production has grown exponentially and it keeps growing by the minute due to population growth. Consumers are the main target, it is why GMOs have been so successful. GMOs are being injected to all food without anybody really acknowledging or questioning what GMOs are really made of. Everyone seems to only care about the mass production of food. The mindset all consumers have about GMOs is wrong because they are not thinking about what GMOs really do to their food or the long-term consequences of eating food with GMOs in it. GMOs are not labeled in our foods, that's because big industries are not 100% sure of what consequences GMOs have on human consumers.

Take a good look at what you consume. You will soon realize that it is Monsanto’s creation of “frankenfood”. Frankenfood, also known as genetically modified muck, is extremely hazardous and detrimental to our health. Monsanto, the world’s largest agricultural and agrochemical biotechnology corporation is the modern day version of the worst villain and “the face of corporate evil” (Anderson e.p. 1). This company, made and run by humans, creates foods and other chemical infused products that cause adverse effects on both the environment and humanity. Instead of evolving and bringing about good changes to ourselves and the environment, we are doing the exact opposite. Humans always strive for better, but what we do not realize is that our careless

The food industry utilizes genetically modified organism in almost every single product that one consumes. Americans tend to go with these food options because it is cheaper and easier to access. However, not only does this option contribute to the nationwide issue of obesity, it also damages the human body in the long run. As these discoveries are quite new to the country, there has not been enough time to survey and analyze the long-term effects of GMO consumption. The concern for the long-term negative consequences of the poison being fed may soon outweigh the benefits of the cheaper alternative. (Fukuyama 118). GMO consumption infiltrates the human body and plants a seed of unknown side effects for years to come. The world is unfamiliar with the long-term consequences and one will not be able to note until a couple of more

In the past few years, society has been made more aware of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Because of this, GMOs are being replaced in diets with more natural and organic options. GMOs have been researched and found to cause adverse effects on human health because of the gene splicing, or genetic alterations that are done to create them through genetic engineering. Before this issue became an issue, many people were eating processed and even healthy foods without understanding what chemicals and toxins they were actually putting into their bodies. GMOs are infused into food without awareness because one never really understands what all those unpronounceable words, label GMOs, really are. Due to recent research, it has been found that genetically modified organisms are harmful and can lead to increased risks of disease and cancer.