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.
GMOS have been cluttering many parts of the United States for many years but the issues surrounding them have recently made surface. A GMO is a Genetically Modified Organism. In other words, genetically modified means the materials that make up an organism have been altered and artificially engineered somewhere in a laboratory. Scientists create what can be called the ‘ultimate plant’ which are able to sustain life outside normal conditions that make organic plants susceptible to death. In most all cases GMOS are created to sustain the application of a herbicide or other chemicals. It is a more efficient way to get the most out of what nature gives. Some companies who produce GMOS
Imagine a world where there is food for everyone, a world where hunger is not an issue. Mankind has worked very hard to help this dream come true, and that is one of the main reasons why we have genetically modified organisms today. Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs for short, are organisms who’s genetic material (DNA) have been modified in a way that does not occur naturally to get desired traits, such as, resistance to disease or tolerance to pesticides. They have been created with the best intensions to improve yield. But, do genetically modified organisms cause more problems than they resolve? Many anti-GMOs activist have been doing researches for years trying to prove that GMOs are dangerous to mankind, and can cause possible
Estimates of the numbers of meals consumed by feed animals since the introduction of GM crops 18 years ago would number well into the trillions. By common sense alone, if GE feed were causing unusual problems among livestock, farmers would have noticed. Dead and sick animals would literally litter farms around the world. Yet there are no anecdotal reports of such mass health problems.
Genetically Modified Organism or GMO is an organism that has been altered genetically. There are many possibilities for altering an organism such as growing conditions, quantity, or even scientific breakthroughs. Many choose a side over this heated debate, whether GMOs are safe or if they are harmful to humans. Currently about two-thirds of all items in the supermarket is GMO(Corn The Miracle Crop). GMO promise increase crop yields, lower costs, and less herbicides and pesticides. Altering the organisms genetics could negatively affect the organism resulting in an unstable product. Researchers have found that an unstable product can result in poor crop production, decrease in nutritional value, toxic and
GMOs, (genetically modified organisms) have been a topic of interest in the social eyes for years. Since they’ve been created, many people have voiced and written about their opinions on GMOs, and whether they are dangerous or not. Created to expand the genetic diversity of crops and animals, many don’t know whether GMOs are good or bad, and neither do researchers. Though there hasn’t been any evidence claiming whether GMOs are good or bad, it has certainly not stopped the public from creating their own opinions. Since no one knows the truth behind GMO, it has opened a window of opportunities for companies including Monsanto to voice their support of GMO, while other companies like the Non-GMO Project voice their
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.
Over the past decades, agriculture technology and productivity has been changing drastically to fit the needs of the world population. The largest agricultural production country, the United States, has been experiencing these changes more rapidly just to meet these agricultural demands. This in turn has lead to serious controversies over the ethics and morals of some agricultural practices, namely Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). With the US population increasing every year, US farmers had to develop some way to meet the high demands of the people, therefore, GMOs were developed to help increase crop yields while also helping farmers financially by using less pesticides and herbicides.
geI think that GMOs should be allowed in America under a highly regulated and controlled system. The reason they should stay is because of the potential benefits of these in production. Genetically modified foods provide multiple perspectives and can come with a wide range and variety of of opportunities. GMOs can be highly controversial but can also be strictly regulated so that the nation remains safe and protected, which should be the prioritized goal of the government of any nation.
With numerous developments plaguing agricultural production, the implementation of Genetically Modified Organisms, commonly referred to as GMOs, is best suited to be used in food manufacturing. It is estimated that by the year 2050, global food production must increase by seventy percent. However with current practices in place and the limited expansion of farmland due to urbanization, such production rates are nearly impossible to achieve. The use of Genetically Modified Organisms seems to be among the only feasible options to rapidly increase food production and thus aid in this crisis which plagues even though most developed countries, such as the United States. Specifically in the United States, the use of Genetically Modified Organism
As I mentioned some people prefer to not purchase GMO’s food products, maybe because GMO’s are not trustworthy enough and are relatively new, or maybe because of religion concerns. GMOs can have ingredients such as pork that people who practice Jewish, and Muslims religious can’t eat, or fish that Buddhists can’t eat for religious reasons (Global, 39). Therefore, labeling those GMO’s products is a crucial thing for a lot of citizens in the US, and consumers demand to label for all GMO’s foods (Sax, 631). However, the US government once again treats GMOs as natural, organic food. The US government uses the ‘substantial equivalence’ principle which says that GMOs food should be treated equally because GMOs have the same characteristics and composition
Before we start to talk about this visual image we should talk about the article I created. My editorial titled “The Beginning of the GMO Era” discusses the misconceptions that the general public have about GMOs—like it causes cancer, death, and a few others. I then argue that none of those have been proven and point out some benefit of GMOS, like how they can save lives producing bigger harvests, and improving the lives of people who currently live in poverty. Transforming this verbal claim from my editorial into a visual argument was an intriguing experience—I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but I had a rather difficult time bringing it into existence. Having said that, I am pleased with the way my visual turned
According to the Economic Research Service/ USDA, United States highly produce on corn (90% acres), soy (93% acres) and cotton (90%acres) in year 2013. (Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo, 2014) Since United States adopted genetically modified technologies in agricultural field, a majority of food products of United States contains of genetically modified ingredients. But the saddest part is most of the American citizens does not realized that they are consumed almost 85% of genetically modified food in their daily meal. (Stryker, 2013) This shows almost every grocery shops in United States must have processed foods that come from genetically modified food. Processed foods such as cookies, breakfast cereal, and corn syrup are containing genetically engineered ingredients from corn
A man goes shopping at his local grocery store with his list in hand, as he begins picking out fruit from shelves and placing them in plastic bags. The average natural fruit has changed over time, for genetic modification is now required for every crop. He picks up a freak mutant of what once was a regular apple and looks around to make sure no one is looking before he takes a bite out of it. After that, he hides the seed and continues his shopping. Later that night, he tosses and turns in bed. He begins feeling the side effects of that GMO apple he ate, his body changing and morphing into something else. Stumbling out of bed, he made his way to the mirror, feeling a great pain all over is body. He pushes himself up against the mirror onto his feet and in the moonlight he sees what he had become: His skin has become bumpy, blotchy and green. Moss and sprouts of apple tree saplings protruded from his body. Patches of leaves grew in random places. Long vines grew where his hair once was, covering his face. He parts his new “hair” to see that he no longer had two regular human eyes, but instead multiple eyes, each distorted and deformed. The neighborhood is awoken by the beastly screams and cries in the night, as the man curses GMOs.
This lab was performed to explore and discover GMOs in food that were given to test. Our group used oats, a GMO positive food, and a test food. Our goal was to find out whether the test food was GMO positive or negative and to record data accordingly. I hypothesized that the test food will be GMO positive. To see if my hypothesis had been correct we performed the process of PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), to find the presence of GMO positive or negative DNA in the foods. We first extracted the DNA from the foods, and then added primers to the DNA as well. I then inserted the DNA onto a gel using a micropipette. Using gel electrophoresis and a UV transilluminator we were able to view the staggering results.