Roundup, A Stroller In Walt Disney World

The documentary explores the nutrition of America and interviews multiple nutritionists about the food we eat and how it’s the cause of nearly all degenerative diseases. 106,000 people die every year from pharmaceutical drugs that are given by their doctors. This film points out what we are missing. Mike Adams, the founder of Natural News.com states, “Food Matters dares to reveal how we can stop the cycle of destruction and restore true health to ourselves and our planet.” In this generation we tend to take the word of other’s over researching and finding out what is really right for ourselves. This documentary answers the questions we should be asking such as “how safe is our food?” and “why is organic better?”

Michelle Schoffro cook, PhD, DNM, Clinical Nutritionist. Michelle states that “according to research published in the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Scientists found that the genetically-modified corn was linked to liver and kidney damage in animal” (Schoffro). In other words what Michelle is saying is that there is proof that GMOs could cause some damage to the animal’s organs. These so called GMOs are modified genetically so that they can produce their own pesticides and therefore they are immune to any plague. Studies show that some of those pesticides are toxic to humans. Some of those toxins are the Bt-toxin and Roundup Ready which are now found in corn, cotton and soybeans. These two pesticides have been linked to severe health risks. Studies conducted on animal have shown that GMOs can cause damage to their liver, kidney, and the male’s reproductive organ damage and spleen damage. This should make us wonder, if these modifications on the food have a drastic effect on animals, then we must assume the same thing could happen to us. In the same matter, now that these pesticides and toxins are built in the plants they cannot be washed off, which means that they are being consumed. This leads us to the conclusion that we are eating a food that could kill

Food Inc. is a very informative and eye-opening film. The intended audience are those who eat unhealthily in America and all around the world. The film is based in America and it displays what companies put in their food before it goes in our mouths. It uses actual examples to display this, like a boy who died from E-Coli from a burger. The main message that the authors Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan are trying to portray is that we should think before we put something into our mouths about how that food has been treated prior to this.

However, one of the leading discussions about why GMOs are put in such a negative light is based around the insecticide Roundup (Cassidy, Emily). A confirmed carcinogen within roundup is called glyphosate. Roundup is used by many people including mass-production farmers. If the risk for users to have cancer is so drastic, why use the product? Chiefly, because it works. Roundup is successful in controlling unwanted weeds for what are called Roundup Ready crops. They’re able to survive the harsh chemicals of the spray, but weeds and other unwanted growth is not. The dangerous chemicals from Roundup have been known to stick around in the delivered crops, which are GMOs. This may be where a lot of the negative stigma of GMOs comes from, because it is 100% true that Roundup is unhealthy. But if farmers don’t use Roundup, what’s the issue with the Roundup resistant foods? If there is no negative effect on humans consuming the foods, then there isn’t much of an issue with their

Because GMOs are not always put through proper testing, there are two common GMOs that are harmful to the world. One of these GMOs are called pesticide producers. These pesticide producers are created by transferring a gene from a bacteria into the crops in order to become resistant to insects. Complications are occurring from these pesticide producers. Over 500 species of bugs have become resistant to these pesticides (GMO OMG). Not only are crops genetically modified to be resistant to insects, but also weeds. The other most prominent type of GMO are herbicide resisters. These crops are also known as roundup ready crops due to their ability to survive from weed killing chemicals. Yet again, there are some major drawbacks to these roundup ready GMOs, such as the adaptation of roundup resistant weeds. Secondly, the 5.1 billion pounds of chemicals used each year across the world with these GMOs are causing severe ecological damage. The process of growing GMO crops emits nearly 40% more greenhouse gasses compared to organic processes. Likewise, the USDA says that in Iowa for every bushel of GMO corn

Overuse of roundup results in “super weeds”, resistant to herbicide. This is causing farmers to use even more toxic herbicide every year. However, it not only creates this environmental harm. GMOs foods contain higher residues of toxic herbicides which means it has highly possibility been absorbed in to human body by eating GMO food. In addition, how the herbicide directly linked to the human health. Verma (2011) writes, “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food, including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system” (p.7). Why those issues had being happened on the human body? And why those issues could directly related to the GMOs food? A very interesting things is the most of farmers would not eat the GMO food, they choose to eat organic food, And 54% said they would choose a conventionally labelled food product and 24% would choose organic if it was available (reporter, 2013). In addition, Herbicides are not

American farmers work hard every day to cultivate food for consumption by the people. In order to produce enough food farmers employ many tactics within the cultivation of these products. Genetically modified organisms, known more commonly to the public as simply GMOs, is any organism who’s DNA has been changed from the original. Farmers oftentimes grow crops which are considered to be genetically modified to produce greater quantities of crops more efficiently than a non-GMO plant would. Genetically modified organisms are a way for the small percentage of American farmers to be able to feed as many people as possible, but some mislead individuals claim GMO's can negatively affect the public's health.

Monsanto has taken a bold approach to create a product that increases the world’s food supply at a time when urban sprawl and population growth is extremely high. Land for farming is becoming more scarce as the profitability of being a farmer is shrinking. Monsanto has done a great thing to attempt increasing crop yields through genetic modification. However, the history of chemical use has shown both short term and long term health issues in field workers (Harvey, 2014). To continue to build on the successful increase of produce yields while limiting the consequences of chemicals used, Monsanto should use fewer chemicals, research short and long term effects of chemical use, and support the sustainability efforts for clean water.

Monsanto is today a well-known company, and have both been commended and condemned for what they accomplished as a firm. Expanding the production into industrial chemicals has met a lot of criticism throughout the years (Monsanto Company, 2015). At the same time, in 2014 they were able to increase crop yields by 22 percent, reduce pesticide use by 37 percent, and increase farmer profits by 68 percent. (Bennett, 2014). Meaning, they have managed to use technology that allows developing countries to use less resources and to create even higher crop yields (English, 2014). However, it has been achieved on the expense of a controversial product, which is a major subject in todays view on how to maintain a sustainable environment, namely the genetically

The potential health risks a person faces by unknowingly consuming GMOs are numerous and unprecedented. In 2011, a report called “Roundup and Birth Defects: Is the Public Being Kept in the Dark?” was published in which 8 distinguished scientists were able to find a “link in

In November 2012, Food and Chemical Toxicology published a controversial study by Gilles-Eric Seralini, Emilie Clair, Robin Mesnage, et al., entitled "Long Term Toxicity of a Roundup Herbicide and a Roundup-Tolerant Genetically Modified Maize." The study purported to show the genetically-modified organisms like corn have alarmingly deadly side effects. Five months later in March 2013, the same journal published "Comments on 'Long Term Toxicity of a Roundup Herbicide and a Roundup-Tolerant Genetically Modified Maize'" by Dung Le Tien and Ham Le Huy. The "Comments" essentially took the form of a letter to the editor of the journal, Dr. Wallace Hayes, and called for "immediate action" regarding the study of Seralini et al (Tien, Huy, 2013, p. 443). This paper will provide a summary of each article, will compare and contrast the risk perceptions presented in each article, will identify the environmental stressors that are related to the environmental risk, and will conclude with a discussion of my own risk perception of the issue.

The use of planting GM crops is threat to the environment. It is considered an environmental hazard to both humans and animals. According to the Economist, Monsanto introduced a new herbicide called Roundup; its active ingredient is glyphosate, which is used in most herbicides, but it is still unknown whether or not it is safe. In addition to GM crops, these crops can outcompete natural plant and animal populations that depend on other organisms for energy. Crops that are sprayed with herbicides and pesticides have a negative impact towards the environment, sometimes the chemicals travel through the air, leech into the ground, and also contaminate fresh water sources (Kannall). The impact of GM crops can affect the population, interactions, and ecological roles of the ecosystem

In a study conducted on a company named “Monsanto” revealed that rats feed on Monsanto’s genetically modified corn suffered from tumors in their mammary glands and severe damage to their internal organs. After this discovery the french government requested that an investigation be opened to gain further knowledge in their findings. The rats in this experiment were feed NK603, which is a seed variety made to tolerant dousings of Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller at acceptable levels according to the United States died earlier then the rats that were on a normal diet. The rats on the genetically modified diet suffered mammary tumors, as well as severe liver and kidney damage, according to the peer-reviewed study which was published in the journal

Throughout the documentary, Koons talks about the struggles farmers face when unwanted, modified seeds land on their property. Being involved in the agricultural industry is a challenge since Monsanto owns most of the seeds being produced and can indict farmers without a license to grow GM seeds. Monsanto is a corporation that produces seeds and Roundup products. Agricultural technology advances rapidly. Farmers have to decide what types of seeds they want to grow and how they are willing to do it. Koons explains how Roundup harms the environment by killing any living organism that are not “Roundup ready,” meaning that the organism has not been genetically modified to resist strong chemicals (The Future of Food). When growing organic crops, one has to be sure that none of the genetically modified crops get cross-pollinated. This is experimentation with life. Another question addressed is whether or not we should be able to patent life? (The Future of Food). Today most of the seeds grown in America have been patented by Monsanto owns majority of them. If any of the seeds are mixed, Monsanto owns the crops and can sue the farmer and keep their crops. Many of the products being produced are not tested to see if it is safe for human consumption. There are different scenes demonstrating how DNA and genes are changed to achieve a perfect crop, which is not natural. Koons includes images of the process in which scientists and engineers change genes, though modified genes do not

For example, some GM soybeans are created to withstand the Round-Up glyphosate herbicide engineered by Monsanto, a powerful biotechnology company well-known in the domain of GMOs, which means that it can be sprayed to kill any weed around the plants in big quantities without any harm done to the crop itself (“GMO Risks” 44). This is a worrisome possibility since the glyphosate has been categorized as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by the World Health Organization in 2015 due to studies which showed that farmers exposed to this chemical have twice the risk to develop blood cancer (Cassidy 4). This becomes an even bigger problem when we consider that in the recent years, according to the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources at Washington State University, the herbicide use in the U.S., from 1996 to 2011, has increased by 404 million pounds since the introduction of GM plants (“GMO Risks” 46). This is a direct result of the weeds becoming resistant to the chemical, thus leading to a bigger use of the latter. It is well known that such chemicals products are linked to various diseases like cancers or neurological problems, and therefore, GMOs containing these products can rightly be considered as potentially dangerous (Connealy 11).