Essay Is Your Food Safe?

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

There are varied arguments that favor or are against compulsory labeling of genetically engineered food products. Those who argue for the labeling of such products argue that consumers have a right to know what is contained in their food, particularly food products for which there have been health and environmental concerns (Caswell 26). Compulsory labeling will permit consumers to identify and avoid those food products that may cause them problems. On the contrary, those who argue against mandatory labeling point out that

America uses 2.4 billions of acres to grow GMOs; by 2012, 28 countries across the world grew GMOs in 3.7 billion acres of land (ISAAA 1). The United States take up more than 50% of that land. Even though so much of America’s crops are genetically modified, the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture do not require the labelling of genetically modified food products. Producers have the choice of including a GMO-containing label or a GMO-free one (Storrs 1). There is an increased accessibility of genetically modified, GM crop planting has increased from 1 million to 70 million hectares, one hectare equals 100 acres (GMO Compass). In America only one state, Vermont, out of the fifty states in the U.S. is planning to require labels on GMO-containing foods beginning July 2016 (Bailey 1). Act 120, an act delineating the labeling of foods produced by genetic engineering, has caused issues with Vermont and the federal government. The state is facing trials in order to pass this legislation. Labeling of foods in general is not strictly enforced by the government organizations who are accountable for food safety, such as the FDA. There are little regulations that must be met (Storrs 1). Due to the increasing availability of GMO-containing foods, the FDA should require all GM food producers to label their products because consumers need to be aware and GMO-containing foods and organically grown foods have extensive differences.

Ever since the first agrochemical tomato was deemed fit for human consumption in 1994, there has been a surge of genetically engineered foods on supermarket shelves. Unlike most European countries, there is no mandate in the U.S. for food companies to label products that contain what are known as “Genetically Modified Organisms”. The foods that sit innocently on grocery shelves next to their organic

Genetically Modified Foods are harmful to society because GE animals might can cause allergic reactions. “There is concern the GM foods pose and allergy risk with the most eight common food allergens: eggs,milk, fish,

GMOs are not properly regulated in terms of safety measures as it pertains to food. As it pertains to risks to human health, concerns continue to mount regarding US governmental agencies due diligence in safety analysis of GMOs. For example, the FDA’s policy has been minimal based on their reliance of GMO producers

With new technology being utilized in the medical, agricultural, and economic aspects of daily living, numerous perilous concerns have risen against the proper usage and non-maleficence of these high-tech mechanics. For about a decade now, genetically modified foods have occupied the shelves of supermarkets and grocery stores across the nation. The ample amount of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, have sparked many affairs regarding the impact they have on one’s health. The detonation of GMOs, according to the Institute for Responsible Technology, is “the result of a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species (bacteria, viruses, insects, animals, or humans) are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal (Smith).” The timeline of GMOs is rather short, with the DNA being first discovered by Russian scientist Andrei Nikolaevitch Belozersky in 1935. It wasn’t until 1982 that the extracted DNA was approved by the FDA. Hamlin, a form of insulin derived from E. coli, is now permitted to be genetically engineered into produce and meat products. GMO induced foods hit the grocery store in 1994, and the industry rapidly expanded and became the dominant crop by 1999 (Shireen, 2013). A vast majority of processed foods contain GMO-induced ingredients; there is no getting away from them and their harms unless new regulations are set to prevent their sale.

In light recent technological advancements, the agricultural field has seen a huge shift in the way food is produced, manufactured and regulated. Standing on the frontier of molecular biology is the introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms or GMO’s into the food industry as a means of creating better crops. Since the initial merging of GMO and the food industry there has been a growing use of genetically modified crops, an increase in the creation of new strains, and expansion in the use, manufacturing and distribution of these products. In the past 20 years alone Canada has seen a visible rise of GMO foods available in grocery stores, specifically as a part of basic ingredients that make up a diversity of food products (David Suziki). Thus, the GMO revolution has unapologetically established itself in the food industry and has become a large feature of food production today. Nevertheless, the creation and implementation of these practices is not without its share of concern and controversy. Despite its steady expansion, there is still much to be said about the safety of these products and the procedures by which they are formed under, the potential health risks they pose, the damage it causes to the agricultural business and the effect it has on the environment. Altogether, evidence points to several issues associated with GMO and its integration with food safety, health, the industry and the environment.

Would you rather consume food that is grown with enough poison to pollute the soil, or grown naturally with organic fertilizer such as compost? Well when you consume Genetically Engineered Organisms (GMOs), you are doing just that, eating food that has been grown with enough poison to pollute soil. These products claim to have higher yields and greater resistance to harmful insects and diseases. Although some of these claims may be true, there is possibly health concerns with eating these types of foods. It is not fully the fault of the consumer for consuming such goods, since the FDA does not require companies to label products that have been Genetically Engineered. These Genetically altered foods have the possibility to cause human health concerns and environmental concerns due to the chemicals that are used in the process, therefore Genetically Engineered Organisms should be labeled as dangerous and taken off the market around the world.

Genetically modified organisms also called GMO are organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering, or GE. This relatively new science creates unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. The GMO is segmented into two groups: first group is high-risk because they are commercial products, second is monitored- risk because it is suspected or known incidents of contamination have occurred and/or the crops have genetically modified relatives in commercial production with which cross-pollination (and consequently contamination) is possible, and it’s not healthy for humans. Genetically modified organisms is a nicer word for processed foods, making it unhealthy for human bodies and harder for the body to break down food. GMO products are high-risk and monitored –risk and it is very unhealthy for humans ( Goldbas, A. (2014).

The genetically modified food debate continued at Davos in such panels as "21st Century Food Fights" and "Should We Be Frightened By Food?" - but it won 't end there, not by a long shot. The GM food debate is increasingly dividing public opinion - and countries. The potential of the new technology seems promising, but it 's hard to know at what, if any, risk.

Over the past few decades the production of genetically modified organisms has become more and more commonplace. Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are created by artificially inserting the genes from one organism into another, in order to create a desired protein in the new organism. In the USA it is estimated that over 70% of processed foods found in grocery stores has been in some way genetically modified (Center For Food Safety). Due to limited experimentation and research however, many are unsure about how GMOs affect human health. While the long term effects of genetically modified organisms in humans are yet to be seen, most scientists agree that GMOs are generally safe for human consumption. Genetically modified foods and

A statement was issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the early 1990’s that advised consumers that there had been no danger associated with consuming foods containing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) therefore no “safety” studies were necessary. The FDA furthermore made the ruling that the labeling of GMO foods was not mandatory in the year 2000. In 1992 a lawsuit against the BIOTECH community released 44,000 secret internal memos into the public domain showing that not only where GMOs dangerous, they were less nutritious than non-GMO food, they had been linked to

This paper reviews the biotechnology of genetically modified (GM) foods, history, benefits and risks. Beginning with the history of biotechnology, the scientific explanation of genetically modified organisms and the risks and benefits associated with the use of genetically modified plants in agriculture, it provides an overview of GM foods. Plant biotechnology has been in use for the last thirty years in the United States and over 150 million hectares of GM plants are grown in 25 different countries around the world (Bertheau 2012). It is reasonable for consumers to have an understanding of GM foods and what they are eating on a daily basis. There is much controversy surrounding the ethical issues and attitudes regarding the use GM plants in our agriculture, however this paper will only focus specifically on the development of GM foods and the evidence-based risks and benefits.