Genetically Modified Organisms Or Gmo 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

The theme of agriculture and even more specifically genetically modified organisms helped to critically examine the dangers and hazards of such GMOs. Knowing the potential issues with GMOs from class helped understand and effectively critique this article more. The examples and real world statistics in this article magnified the importance of GMO labeling and the dangers imposed upon consumers who eat such foods.

GMOs are the source of genetically modified foods and are also widely used in scientific research and to produce goods other than food.The debate as to whether genetically modified foods should be grown and consumed along side organic foods is one of the most controversial topics in the past decade. In my opinion, I believe that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) foods should not be permitted to be grown in Canada. As a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, I know the similarities and differences between the two types of foods. GMO foods have become very popular throughout the last two decades and there are a number of reasons for its growth, however, many consumers do not know the benefits and drawbacks of them. GMO foods are generally much cheaper than organic foods and therefore more attractive from a consumer’s prospective and not to mention the fact that they look identical to their organic counterparts makes it that much more convincing. Around 70% to 80% of foods at a local grocery store have traces of GMO products in them thus demonstrating that organic foods are fairly hard to find in today’s society. There are many reasons as to why Canada should not allow the production of GMO foods for example the controversy surrounding whether GMOs are safe to eat, government labelling on GMO products, why people like and dislike GMO products and if the benefits of GMOs outweigh the risks.

Controversies and public concern surrounding GM foods and crops commonly focus on human and environmental safety, labeling and consumer choice, intellectual property rights, ethics, food security, poverty reduction and environmental conservation. (Bawa, 2012). Safety concerns for genetic engineering can cause various regulations intended to prevent environmental and health problems (Bawa, 2012). Concern from consumers has been expressed for GMOS because several agricultural practices, such as the widespread use of DDT in past decades, have caused serious problems that were unintended and unexpected (Old Citation: Brill, 1985).

The world we live in today is in no doubt constantly changing all thanks to the technological and scientific advancements. These advancements are what have led to the birth of molecular genetics which is the genesis of improvements in the field of agriculture. Food is a very crucial part of human survival, and while it may be abundant in many developed countries, the same cannot be said about the developing countries. A 2015 report by FAO on the state of food insecurity sates that there are about 795 million people sleeping hungry because of shortage of food with the vast majority coming from developing countries (2015, FAO). The rise of genetically modified food in the recent years however has helped to provide a solution to some of these food shortage problems. Generally genetically modified foods otherwise known as GMO foods are foods that result from crops whose genetic makeup have been modified or altered. This happens through a process that’s referred to as recombinant DNA that serves to give plants traits that are desirable with the use of molecular techniques. Some of the most bioengineered foods include tomatoes, corn, cotton, rice, papaya, wheat among others. While it has had many benefits and successes, GM foods still have risks and the question of safety always arises when it comes to discussions.

Genetically Modified (GM) foods are found in almost every food sold in groceries stores all over the United States. They can be found in packaged to even fresh fruits and vegetables. According to the Institute for Responsible Technology GM, major commodity crops such as corn and soybeans have found to be 90% or more to have been raised by a GM seed (Smith 1). They are genetically modified for many different reasons whether it is for more nutrients, a larger size or removal of pesticides. The problematic issue is that some believe that GM foods are too expensive, they effect human health or it is toxic to the environment. Ultimately, GM crops

A genetically modified organism (GMO) is a chemical organism processed in a laboratory where genes from the DNA of the crops are extracted and then artificially forced into an unrelated product that, when put into the crops the farmers raise, can chemically change the makeup of the crop. The chemical makeup can be from the change in the skin color of the crop to the actual organic chemistry compound. Genetic engineering is the process of splicing the genes in the crop and taking out a certain chemical on the compound to substitute the original compound. The practice of genetic engineering has been around since 1935 when the Russian scientist Andrei Nikolaevitch Belozersky isolated pure DNA, and is being used by many farmers and large international corporations (Shireen). For example, a tomato farmer changes the genes of the tomato to prevent a beetle from eating it. However, genetically modified organisms are becoming detrimental to our bodies and health and there are ways the government can help Americans eat healthier by labeling products with genetically modified organisms.

Genetically modified food have been the subject of much controversy lately. Genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) are a broad group of plants, animals and bacteria that are engineered for a wide for a variety of purposes ranging from agricultural production to scientific research. The types of potential perils posed by GMO vary depending on the type of organism being modified and its intended purpose (EOH, 2003).

With the increased amount of publicity, genetically modified organisms have recently been under harsh scrutiny and criticism. Consumers around the world are concerned whether or not consuming these newly modified organisms have any long term or short term health effects. “An exhaustive new study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, found “no substantiated evidence of a difference in risks to human health between current commercially available genetically engineered (GE) crops and conventionally bred crops,”(Hall). This experiment showed that there are no alarming effects for consumers to worry about when consuming genetically modified crops. Genetically modified crops have been consumed for over twenty years now without causing any increase in health problem in the populations that consume them. These products are some of the most tested and safest agriculture products out there today. All of the testing done on genetically modified crops and their safety is monitored by the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA), and the Food and Drug Administration(FDA). Across the board with so many different agencies committed to reviewing testing of GMOs these products and organisms are undoubtedly safe

It is a common saying, “You are what you eat.” While many may consider this a harmless persuasion to eat healthily, the soaring popularity of GM food in society has prompted consumers to question their food choices. Ever since the initial modification of genetic material in 1972, GMOs have become an increasingly standard component in the advancement of scientific and agricultural research (Statista). However, the benefits of GMOs come at a costly price, one that is not worth paying for. While it remains true that GM foods present with some economic and nutritional advantages, there is immense retaliation regarding their contribution to sustainable development through their controversial issues. This makes them unfit and unsafe for cultivation

Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, have taken a new role in the world’s food industry. It is not uncommon for the majority of produce being sent out for the public’s consumption to be genetically engineered. The problem is, no one has proof that genetically modified food is safe to eat. In fact, evidence shows that there is a huge possibility that it is not. With neglected and insufficient testing, and the unknown side effects, GM food is likely to do more harm than good.

Genetically modified food creates risks for the environment. It can cause cross-contamination between the GMO and organic produce damaging the organic crops. According to a 2009 report by the Organic center, the extensive use of pesticides intensely increased--about 318 million pounds--in the first thirteen years after GMO crops were introduced. (Text 2, lines 31-32) This occurred because people who grow GMOs immeasurably, spray herbicides on them causing pesticide-resistant weeds to prosper. However, according to the Food and Drug Organization, the foods are safe to consume. Agreeing, the World Health Organization states that there are no severe health effects that occurred in the international market. (Text 3, lines

Advocates and opponents have made very contrasting claims about the benefits and potential risks of GMOs, and each pointed to their own favourite pieces of evidence without any straight answer. In general, agro-biotechnologist advocates and crop science companies promote the use of GM technology as a risk-free alternative to enhance food quality in particular and for the overall economic benefits at large (Nelson, 2001). On the other hand, opponents including some scientist and environmentalist view the application of genetic modification in food crops as a lethal interference between the realm of nature and human leading to unknown health hazards, socioeconomic risks and regulatory constraints (Nelson, 2001). Incidentally, the nature of GM debate among the public and the experts is exceptionally different (Hansen et al., 2003). While consumers are more focused on tangible benefits such as price, features and tangible benefits of GM foods, expert’s differences of opinion are concentrated mostly in three major areas a) the safety regimes for both human and environment; b) regulatory framework of GMOs in local as well as international context and c) the allied economic constraints of commercialisation of GMOs (Paarlberg, 2002). Thus, literature cited in the present study are subdivided in accordance with these three major areas of conflict among the experts, including a brief discussion about the role of the media in GM

Most of the foods Americans consume today are unhealthy and harmful to the human body. Many foods available are not natural or “real” because they are genetically modified. 80% of the food we consume are processed and genetically modified.

Ever since GMO’s were first introduced in the mid 1990’s, there has always been a controversy as to whether or not consuming them is safe and healthy. As concerned American consumers who do not agree in the use of them, the effects GMO’s have on our health is a real issue and concern. One of the reasons we don’t want GMO’s used in our food or anywhere in general is because the risk of health issues they can cause. Since GMO’s were introduced into society, little research has been done on the effects they can have on people so no one knows if they are or aren’t harmful. GMO’s have multiple different effects on human health, such as; decrease in nutritional value and increased toxicity (Gertsburg, 2010). The