Genetically Modified Organisms Research Paper

The article opened by portraying a future world where natural seeds were virtually extinct. This frightened me because the idea of solely relying on GM food seemed unhealthy and unsafe. Referring back to the article, research conducted by feeding rats GM potatoes resulted in massive systematic health problems. Health issues such as damaged immune system, higher blood sugar, and pre-cancerous cell growth frightened me. The rats’ response to GM food demonstrated exactly what will happen to us humans if we were to consume the exact GM foods. Though I was alarmed by the cause of the GM food, I am not surprised that GM products result in horrific amount of health hazard. It is clear that anything artificial would contain different chemicals and is highly susceptible in causing undesirable reactions to living things. Hence, it worries me that the use of GM product,

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

Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMO’s, are organisms that have had genes from a different organism implanted into their own genetic code in order to produce a new result (“Genetically engineered foods”). This practice has elicited polar responses across the globe, for a multitude of reasons. Besides the obvious reason, being the morality of changing an organism's DNA for human benefit, one frequently noted problem is the monopolization of GMO’s by the company Monsanto, whose name is nearly synonymous with GMO’s due to their involvement with these crops. Monsanto has been at the center of many controversies regarding GMO’s, and is even considered to be ranked third to last for reputation among all major American companies (Bennett). Most

The concerns regarding the health risks of the genetically engineered food came to light in the early 1990s. At this point, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was tasked with advising the public and the public regarding the health risks of GMO foods. However, the White House was bent on promoting the GMO foods and thus staged a conspiracy for FDA to falsify the information and claim that GMO was similar to conventional foods pertaining the health standards (Smith, 2007). This was contrary to the suggestions by many FDA scientists that GMO foods could be having serious health risks that could not be easily detected and thus called for further research in future. Afterward, the biotech companies were found guilty of hiding very vital information regarding the health impact of GMO foods. The health concerns were based on the fact that GMO foods had traces of bacteria and viruses forced into their DNA something that has never been in the human food supply (Swanson, 2014). The research that followed should that GMOs poses huge risks to the health of the consumers including allergies, toxins, nutritional problems, and new diseases. Some of the health conditions correlated with the GMOs is the autism.

Approximately eighty percent of food eaten in the United States contains GMOs, but not many people know what they are actually consuming from their food sources (Prah). Genetically modified organism, also known as genetically modified organisms engineered in a lab by scientists that alter the genes of plants and animals. By fixating DNA from other organisms into America’s food sources, they create substances that are detrimental to the health of human beings. In addition to this, these genetically modified organisms are completely foreign to the plants and animals they undergo; their genes can become damaged from inserting the genes of the organisms. This unnatural process can interfere with a metabolic pathway in the plant or animal. In addition, studies have shown that on average forty-four percent of people had the “Round-up Ready” herbicide, glyphosate, which is used on genetically modified crops, found in their bodies (Stonebrook). Both, the genetically modified organisms and the chemicals used on them, cause several problems to occur in humans and other organisms which consume GMOs. These include tumors, damaged immune systems, allergies, and infertility; this is dangerous to the health of humans and to their regular body processes. Americans have the right to know what is going into their bodies and how these man-made GMOs are affecting them. By the government

These concerns are about the potential of illnesses GMOs could cause. An article observes, “In the 20-plus years on the market, GMOs have not caused or contributed to a single illness or death” (“GMO Myths Vs. Facts”). There have not been any traces of illnesses after multiple testing of GMO products. Since there are only ten commercially farmed genetically modified crops in the United States, the possibility of people getting a disease from them is rare; especially because three of the crops are mainly for feeding livestock. People have believed multiple problems are linked to GMOs. For instance, “in 2013, the journal food and chemical toxicology retracted a paper linked to herbicide roundup and round up-tolerant GM corn to cancer and premature death in rats… they found researchers had used too few rats… and the results were inconclusive” (Colbert, par. 16). Since the researchers did not have enough evidence, the possibility of the problem being GMOs are

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

“When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow.” – Ursula K. Le Guin. No matter what good some people believe they are doing, everything seems to come with a consequence, and the question is whether or not the good overpowers the bad. Many experts argue that Genetically Modified foods are actually beneficial to, not only people, but animals, plants, and the world overall. Some experts even state that, not only are they beneficial, but that they also protect the environment and aid food productivity. Most farmers actually recommend GMO’s because they are easier to grow, maintain, and tend to be more profitable; however, countless other experts have come to realize that GMO foods are untested, unsafe, and unhealthy. Studies indicate that

While these are valid concerns, they are entirely wrong. According to the World Health Organization in 2005, “GM foods currently traded on the international market have passed risk assessments in several countries and are not likely to present risks for human health” (Novella). Many of those who are anti-GMO claim that GMOs are not safe because they do not know enough about them or they have heard far too many conflicting reports. While there are many reports that claim that GMOs are detrimental to the environment, the three agencies that oversee GM crops, the FDA, USDA, and EDA, have ruled that these crops do not pose any real threat. Since the beginning of the GM crop in 1996, there have been 2,497 approvals of the safety of GMOs in the environment and 1,129 of these approvals have been for the food safety of the products (Monsanto). This further disproves the claim that GMOs are unsafe for humans and the environment and reassures that there is no risk involved in either the consumption or the planting of GM

GMOs had largely been out of the public view for most of their brief history as the concept of genetically altered life forms stayed in laboratories. There was no concern over the release of edited genomes or the consumption of unnatural foods. In the article “History of GMOs” by Annette McDermott, the Food and Drug Administration is recorded as having approved the first GMO for human use, specifically a diabetic medicine called Humulin in 1987. This opened a floodgate for pharmaceutical and later agricultural companies to develop genetically modified products and seek their approval from the government. The fact that the US government would allow these modified products into the marketplace was a temptation that many companies utilized. The year 1994 would see the introduction of the first approved GMO vegetable to arrive on supermarket shelves: the Flavr Savr tomato was genetically engineered to last longer on store shelves and stay ripe longer, as explained in “History of GMOs” by Annette McDermott. With the transgenic tomato came the age of widespread GMO food use. Corn, soybeans, cotton, and tomatoes are among the most heavily modified crops. In the book “Genetically Engineered Food: A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers” by Ronnie Cummins and Ben Lilliston, it states an estimated “81% of U.S. soybeans, 40 of U.S. corn, 73% of U.S. cotton, [and] over 50% of the U.S. and Canadian canola crop” (pg. 5) is genetically modified. While most of this

GMO: “Why is it legal?” “Is it considered safe amongst consumers?”. Those are the two frequently asked questions. If GMOs are used on farms, are consumers rights and health at stake? GMOs are bad because they can cause health problems, environmental damage, and violation of farmers and consumers rights. The lack of GMOs labels plays a major part. How will consumers know what they're putting in their bodies? GMOs are used in 80% of processed foods. Yet, consumers fail to begin living “healthy” lifestyle, the consumption of GMO will drastically affect them.

Making them safe to eat and no studies were required to test the safety of these GM foods. The reason for this, the FDA official in charge of promoting GMOs was the former attorney for Monsanto, one of the biggest biotech companies that made huge profits. After the official was removed from his position in the FDA, it was found that the FDA scientist had actually warned against the use of GM foods because of their ability to create hard to predict side effects such as new diseases, nutritional problems, and allergies. These scientist pushed for long-term safety studies but were rejected. Many of biotech companies that have been found to hide the effects of their toxins, are in charge of deciding whether foods are GM

One concern is toxicity, but despite the concerns, the FDA has proclaimed the GM food is safe to consumers.

2. Other animal studies indicate serious health risk associated with GM foods; fertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regression, changes in major organs and gastroninteitinal region.

Much of the public concern surrounding the safety of GMOs stems from the process of actually creating them. This is admittedly not a natural process, which is a surefire way to raise critic’s eyebrows in doubting their safety. However, there is no evidence that supports these myths. The Committee on Genetically Engineered Crops, The National Academy of Science, and the Board on Agriculture and Natural Recourses all agree after extensive testing and observation that there is no additional harm in the consumption of GMO food. The research conducted in animal studies, as well as chemical analysis of the crops, show no indication that GMOs are negatively affecting human health. The next allegation hurled at GMOs is that they may have