Poison Called Bacillus Thuringitesis ( Bt ) Toxin

In conclusion, GMOs and pesticides are harmful and alarming to producers and consumers. They cause animals pain and harm humans when consumed. Many animals live short and painful lives, while humans now must suffer with long term diseases or damage to their bodies. Although some argue that Genetically modified produce is benefiting producers and consumers, I still argue that genetically modified organisms harm animals and

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.

They did so by adding a strand of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into the cotton’s deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)(Genetically Engineered). Monsanto’s most valuable consumer of Bt cotton is China. Even though Bt cotton is expensive, it still has lowered China’s cotton production fees by 14%. Before Bt cotton, Bollworms were capable of eating entire cotton crops, which also affected China’s textile industry. (“Genetically Engineered”). This is only one example of how GMOs can reduce pesticide use, and make crops available to countries who struggle with pests and do not have the monetary capability to purchase pesticide and herbicide.

The human body is not designed to handle all the toxins that are put into GMO products, and as consumers, we should be informed of the potential harm we are putting into our bodies. Helke Ferrie, in his article “Evidence Grows of Harmful Effects of GMOs on Human Health” states, “…all modern human diseases are being caused by environmental toxins of our own making” (12), on the contrary, in the journal “GMOs – A solution or a Problem”, Mark Lynas claims that “… there has never been a single sustained health concern [caused by GMOs]” (132). Ferrie mentions multiple studies where GMOs have proven to “…increase the incidence of cancer, diabetes, hormone disruption, neurological, immunological and other metabolic disorders” (12). After mass amounts of research have been conducted to prove the dangers of GMOs, proof that has been gathered of the detriments genetically modified organisms bring to the human liver; researchers conclude, “… anything that upsets the liver must be… exceedingly

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the use of genetic modification in foods grown for human consumption. Many opponents suggest that genetically modified (GM) foods can affect human growth and development, increase allergic reactions in persons with allergy sensitivity or cause allergies to develop in healthy people. Proponents of using genetically modified organisms to alter and improve foods claim that there are no health risks to humans and that GM foods are subjected to stricter guidelines and testing than “naturally” grown food. They also claim that genetic modification of food is necessary to produce more drought tolerant, insect and disease resistant crops that can sustain the earth’s growing human population. A recent survey conducted suggests that public opinion is evenly divided on whether or not GMOs should be used in foods for human consumption. This paper looks to discuss the pros and cons of GMOs in food and the reported effects, if any, on human growth and development.

Genetically modified foods are altered so that there are genes within them which are not normally found in their organic counterpart. These crops have benefits such as reducing the need to use pesticides which differ from normal organic crops which highly depend on them. For example, a GMO's called BT-Corn has built in bacteria called Bacillus Thuringeinsis (BT) which produces a crystal protein that acts as a pesticide within the crop's cells. The protein is selective and is toxic to harmful pests but to many beneficial species such as bees and butterflies, are harmless. When the protein is produced, as soon as a pest ingests a sector of the plant containing it, the pest will die within hours.

The idea of changing natural processes to produce an “ideal” crop raises concern amongst environmentalists. Extracting bacteria from soil and inserting it into an entirely different species may appear unethical because of the changing of natural processes. Genetic engineering promotes producing a type of crop that is not susceptible to pests, but carries the risk of decreasing genetic variation (Green Peace). Once a crop is perfected, farmers then mass produce that specific crop, and the different variations of the crop are lost (Green Peace). Another concern regarding the use of the Bt protein is the increased risk of allergies (Smith). The transgenic protein comes from bacteria in the soil, and thus raises the concern of allergic reactions to the corn. Consumers are worried that the cry protein injected into Bt corn could have allergies unknown to them because of the cry protein’s characteristic of an extended digestion time. Consumers are also skeptical that genes of this antibiotic resistance could somehow be introduced to other bacteria in the soil, and possibly infect consumers with this bacteria. A major ethical concern of genetically modified crops, specifically Bt corn, is the lack of knowledge of the long term effects these crops have on humans and other organisms. Consumers are uninformed about the

Plant biologist Jonathan R. Latham believes that genetically modified organisms should have never left the lab because it's bringing concerns to him and the public of its potential risks. He mentions may concern or risk, one concern that he brings up is plants that contain their own insecticides. Which will include crops like “maize, cotton and soybeans” (Latham. Par. 9), which are called Bt plants. Bt plants are bug-fighting plants that were spread by moving some genes “from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis” (Latham. Par. 9). The people who make Bt believe that its toxins are inserted specific and safe, but there's a reason why people are doubtful about the safety and specificity. Another concern that the public has is insecticides,

In this research project, the question that initially guided my ideas was “How safe are Genetically Modified Organisms?" Beyond further investigation of the topic, I took the route of GM Feed to assess the animals that are being prepared for our consumption. Therefore whether there is some sort of GM contamination in the body of the animals with a GM diet, it allows me to make my own stance on the potential risks and safety of GMOs for animals and humans. With conductive research on scholarly articles and journals that investigate the study of animals fed GM Crops, I plan to explain to my audience that GM foods have more benefits

There are two types of GMO; herbicide tolerant and self-generating insecticide. “The herbicide tolerant variety are designed to survive high doses of toxic weed killers” (Must-Avoid Foods: Linking GMO to Toxicity and Disease, 2012). When the toxic weed killers get used on these crops, some of the toxins end up in the weed in the food. What is alarming is that the toxic weed killers are actually linked to birth defects, cancer, and hormone disruption (Must-Avoid Foods: Linking GMO to Toxicity and Disease, 2012). The self-generating insecticide such as corn, produces their own insecticide in each and every cell (Swanson, Genetically Modified Organisms and the deterioration of health in the United States, 2013). When insects eats the corn or any other food with the insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) toxin, the insecticide breaks open the stomach of insects in order to kill them. Although this supposedly applies only to insects, studies have shown that the BT-toxin can also break the wall of

Autism, a disease that increased alongside the growing use of Roundup, is a major concern for the American people. The United States has the highest rate in Autism in the world. Glyphosate again plays a major role in the large amount of cases. This was proven by a study conducted by Dr. Huber, a professor emeritus from Purdue University. Dr. Huber tested on rats being fed non-GMO then switched to GMO feed. At the beginning of the study when the rats were being fed organically made food were very passive and friendly but after a month of being fed GM food they became easily irritated and would not get along with one another. This proved that the psychological and behavioral well being of rats was affected by their food and they showed similar symptoms and behaviors to those diagnosed with Autism. In figure 1, the correlation between the increase of glyphosate and Autism is very clear. If America wants to decrease the amount of cases of Autism per year, the ban of GMOs would be very beneficial. It would also promote a healthier diet as organic food would increase in number and lower in price.

Bacillus thuringiensis is a spore forming bacterium that produces crystals protein which are toxic to many species of insects. Therefore it is used a natural pesticide. It is naturally occurring throughout the world and its usage is very common. There are thousands of different Bt strains. The kurstaki strain being the most common kills only leaf- and needle-feeding caterpillars. In the last ten years, Bt strains have been mostly used to control the abundance of flies, mosquitoes, black flies, amongst others. When it comes to Bt strains, the target is very specific. The strains for mosquitoes will only target them and not affect other insects. Even though Bt is used in aerial spraying programs and transgenic crops its main usage in organic farming.

A significant number of research casts doubt on Monsanto’s argument. For example, a rat feeding research observed that after the consumption of Bt corn, rats showed slight but dose-related significant variations in growth for both sexes, resulting in 3.3% decrease in weight for males and 3.7% increase for females. It also caused malfunction of kidney and females’s pregnancy. (Gilles-Eric, Dominique and Joel) Another study found the corn 's Bt-toxin in the blood of pregnant women and their babies, as well as in non-pregnant women. (Smith)

The author then interviews a farmer who has transitioned from conventional farming to genetic modifications. Using GMOs seems promising as it seems like the answer to cost and environmental issues. However, using genetic modifications leads to an uncharted territory with many unknowns. FDA classifies it as a pesticide because Bt is injected into the Agrobacterium payload, and then the bacterium splices it into the potato’s DNA. Dave Stark, a molecular biologist and co-director of Naturemark, Monsanto’s potato subsidiary stated, ”There’s still a lot we don’t understand about gene expression,”(Pollan). They aren’t sure how the Bt will affect humans or the environment under the foreign modifications. However, Pollan does mention that genetic engineering

Bt(bacillus thuringiensis) cotton, is used by many farmers and producer as a pesticide. It is a genetically engineered cotton created by scientists by altering the genetic code of cotton seeds. It’s competency is still to be determined. Bt cotton is the most efficient pesticides being that it kills insects without the use of spray which saves us fuels like water and more importantly oil. A cheap cost and the lessening need for pesticide helps farmers, both expense wise and time wise.