The Truth About Gmos ( Genetically Modified Organisms

Gmo Fear! Advertisers are misleading the public. Sometimes this is intentional and sometimes it is out of ignorance or because data has not been collected yet. Either way, the public has been pulled and tugged in opposite directions on the GMO issues. People are against GMO foods for health safety, farming practices, technological reasons, fear, and some for religious reasons. A. S. Bawa states, “There are controversies around GM food on several levels, including whether food produced with it is safe, whether it should be labelled and if so how, whether agricultural biotechnology and it is needed to address world hunger now or in the future, and more specifically with respect to intellectual property and market dynamics, environmental effects of GM crops and GM crops’ role in industrial agricultural more generally”. This statement puts the GMO issue in a nutshell that marketers and advertisers must contend with. Advertisers for and against GMO foods are appealing to both sides of the debate, but as Bawa indicates, “If we want to put this technology on a proper scientific foundation and allay the fears of the general public considerable effort needs to be directed towards understanding people’s

Humans have been altering the genetic makeup of plants for millennia, keeping seeds from the best crops and planting them in following years, breeding and crossbreeding varieties to make them taste sweeter, grow bigger, last longer. In this way we've transformed the wild tomato, Lycopersicon, from a fruit the size of a marble to today's giant, juicy beefsteaks. From a weedy plant called teosinte with an "ear" barely an inch long has come our foot-long (0.3-meter-long) ears of sweet white and yellow corn. In just the past few decades plant breeders have used traditional techniques to produce varieties of wheat and rice plants with higher grain yields. They have also created hundreds of new crop variants using irradiation and mutagenic

The United States is one of the countries expected to grow at the highest rate (Kochhar). One might think that a simple fix to feeding a growing population would be to produce more food. The answer is not that easy as farm land is rapidly being taken up by urbanization to house people in this population expansion. It is estimated that about 3,000 acres of farmland are lost to development every day in this country (US). This decrease in available farm land has shown a major challenge for famers as they try and feed the world. Therefore, farmers have turned towards new means of production.

Currently over 7 billion people inhabit the earth, current estimates are that the world’s population could be as high as 10 billion by 2050. (Cleland, 553) In order to maintain a sufficient healthy food supply for a population of that size, the farming industry must continue to rely on scientific discoveries to raise crop output levels and raise nutritional values of that production. Beyond the discoveries that have already been made in the genetic altering of food supplies through mixed breeding of similar species. The next plateau will be the reliance on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to provide required crop supplies. Therefore, genetic modification of the world’s food supply is a sustainable effort to allow the human race to continue to support the ever-growing world population.

Over the years humanity has experienced a significant increase in the world population, and today that number continues to rise. With an increase in people, the demand for food goes up tremendously. Agricultural science has continuously developed new technologies that have enhanced the efficiency and value of agricultural production. Although the enhancements increase the production of agricultural goods, it’s important to understand the impacts it has on our environment and food system. In this book review, I will discuss both the cultural and natural dimensions of Agricultural Biotechnology, and how it relates to our current problems in Human Relations. I will also provide personal insights and feelings in regards to the book titled

GMOS have been cluttering many parts of the United States for many years but the issues surrounding them have recently made surface. A GMO is a Genetically Modified Organism. In other words, genetically modified means the materials that make up an organism have been altered and artificially engineered somewhere in a laboratory. Scientists create what can be called the ‘ultimate plant’ which are able to sustain life outside normal conditions that make organic plants susceptible to death. In most all cases GMOS are created to sustain the application of a herbicide or other chemicals. It is a more efficient way to get the most out of what nature gives. Some companies who produce GMOS

It is possible that the largest threat to our world today is over population. The human population has tripled in the past 50 years, and projections show no stop to this rapid growth in the future. By the year 2050, the population could reach 9 billion people (PRB). With such rapid growth, the food industry must find a way to overcome the adversity of such crippling demand, and many scientist believe GMOs hold the key to this critical issue. The population needs to be fed without further degrading the natural resources the Earth still has, while dealing with challenges brought on by global warming and pollution like soil salinity, plant disease, and exacerbated droughts. To combat this, scientists are engineering crops to combat these ecological

Some consumers do not agree with GMOs. In fact, about seven out of ten people say they do not want consume GMOs. But there are others that just do not care. GMOs make up 80% of all packaged foods. (Doering, 2014). Tests have been done to mice to see the effects of genetically modified corn. The results were that the mice grew tumors. (Adams, 2012). Imagine what they could be doing in human bodies. Why do we use GMOs when tests have been done that show they are harmful? “Safety assessments are mandatory for GMOs in other major developing countries including China, Japan, and the countries of the European Union.” (Rock 2014). The bad things are GM products are creating problems every day. Scientists have proven they cause harmful effects. And people are trying to outlaw GM products. Hundreds of millions of people consume GMOs. (Adams 2012). Many products labeled “natural” still may contain them. (Rock 2014). What is good is that “more farmers are rejecting GMOs, and more consumers are demanding non-GMO foods.” (Cummins 2014). And money has been spent on ballot initiatives to force companies to have to put labels on products to inform the people what they are eating. (Doering

A negative perception of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is prevalent among our society. This negative perception is evidenced not only in the numerous advertisements proclaiming “non-GMO” and “all natural” products; it is also shown in network news, social media, marketing, and even academic journals. There are many factors that contribute to the negative perception of GMOs, including misunderstanding or confusion, lack of knowledge, ethics, religion, media bias, and lack of credible information. These are all facts we already know; what we don’t know is how society can change this statistic.

How long will Americans allow themselves to be blindsided while consuming food where they think they know what it contains, but will learn that they are very wrong. Not only do we not know what our food contains, but we also don 't realize the future health problems we are allowing into our bodies to intake. Genetically Modified Foods (GMO’s) are a serious problem that we are unfortunately surrounded with every day, without even knowing it. GMO’s were invented to create a product with a lower price, but with better nutritional value or durability. Although this is what they are intended for, scientists soon discovered after they were introduced that they might run into some unplanned problems. Whenever scientists test how animals react to eating genetically modified foods, they can react with symptoms starting from small sicknesses, all the way to tumors, or even death. This happens only if the animal is actually wiling to eat the GMO. A lot of studies have shown animals will refuse to eat genetically modified organisms, so why are we not listening to them? Genetically Modified Foods should not be produced because they are unsafe for humans to intake, the FDA does not require the public to be notified when they are used, and they poorly effect the environment.

Farming is one of the oldest professions known to mankind. Since time immemorial, man has harvested crops and built civilizations around farms. Agriculture has been a building block for many of the world’s greatest civilizations and continues to be the backbone of many countries across the globe today. In earlier days, farms and agricultural practices were limited to a small size due to the lack of greater need however as the world’s population has continued to grow exponentially, farms have dramatically increased in size and agricultural production has increased owing to the use of newer scientific techniques and more refined catalysts for growth such as re-engineered fertilizers and richer soil. However, despite all this crops are still vulnerable to diseases that pose a great threat and jeopardize the output of a farm; along with this there exists a natural limit that can be achieved in terms of productivity due to constraints such as depletion of minerals in the soil and natural make-up of the plants. To overcome these obstacles, a new practice by the name of genetic modification is rapidly becoming popular and taking the world by storm. Genetically modified organisms are those whose natural genetic makeup has been

However, these risks are purely speculative: 81 separate studies costing approximately $65 million have been conducted by the European Commission alone and have shown no evidence of any risk linked to GM foods (1). Indeed, the U.S. has concluded that the risk of GM crops is minimal. As a result, in the U.S., genetically altered crops accounted for 93% of planted soybeans and cotton and 86% of corn in 2009. (2). Considering the success and benefits of GM crops in America, developing countries have followed suit. In 2009, India planted 84,000 square kilometers of genetically modified cotton, and Brazil planted 214,000 square kilometers of GM soybeans, a 26% increase from the year before (3). Like the U.S., these countries conducted a risk-benefit analysis and concluded that the economic, health, and food surplus benefits of GM crops offset the unproven risks (4). Thus, agricultural biotechnology is being implemented in farming techniques throughout the world.

The controversy of GMO foods is that they can potentially be dangerous. People worry that there hasn’t been enough research done for these products to ensure that they are safe for human consumption. Another reason for controversy is that if genetically modified animals accidentally get into the wild, they can mate with regular animals. They can also compete with them for food and make them go extinct.

People don’t think about what they put in there mouth, what it’s made of or where is comes from. GMOs are probably a word most people have no idea what it is but it’s in most of the food humans consume on a daily basis. Jeffrey Smith states that GMOs should be avoided. Companies that make these GMOs tell consumers that its moving towards the future but in reality, it goes against the original organism since it is being genetically modified by Biotech companies. The chemicals that go into the food wasn’t meant to be inside a human being or maybe even any stomach. The consumption of GMOs give you cancer. The food and water watch website states that consumers who purchase GMO products give corporations increasing control over the “food” we consume,

Welcome to the age of an agricultural revolution as everyday biotechnology continues to bring innovation to human’s most basic needs – food. Food is essential to any living organism, providing energy for our production and nutrients for our protection. Without this fundamental element, life cannot exist. Our lack to produce our own energy, like plants, causes us to become dependent on others for survival. Humans existence is attributed only to the million years of evolution our food source underwent to sustain our survival. Changing the primary nature of our food source, whether it is plant or animal, directs mankind in a dangerous future if our food dependency is permanently hampered. Welcome to the age of an agricultural devolution