The Use Of Roundup, A Major Concern For The American People

In 2004, Jeffrey Smith wrote an article about genetically modified (GM) foods and their effects on human behavior especially on the behavioral growth of children. He claims that GM foods lead to aggressive and violent behavior among children and hence, should be banned from schools. He supported his claim with the findings from two experiments - one was conducted by the students of 2nd grade and the other experiment was conducted by one student in Holland. Both experiments were conducted on two groups of mice – where one group was fed processed junk food and the other group was fed nutritious whole food. Results of two experiments indicated aggressive and violent behaviors among mice who were fed processed junk food. Consequently, author held GM foods, which are present in processed foods in the form of corn and soy, responsible for the aggressive and violent behaviors among mice. I do think that Smith has failed to provide sufficient evidence to support his claim. He has reached a significantly strong conclusion based on only two experiments. My understanding of the subject is entirely different than what Mr. Smith has portrayed; henceforth, I don’t agree with him and intend to rebut his claim. Till present, no study has established coherently that GM foods lead to violent or aggressive behavior among children or among humans for that matter. In fact, GM foods have been associated with many benefits, which shall be discussed throughout this paper. In short, GM foods do

Following numerous research evidence of a connection between the genetically modified organism foods and numerous neurological health conditions, research was conducted to determine the relationship between GMOs and the autism. Theoretical associations and risks used to exist before they prompted the researchers to find empirical research of the association. For example, Smith quotes Arden Anderson, MD, Ph.D., MPH, stating that it appears there is a direct correlation between GMOs and autism. Physician Jennifer Armstrong is also quoted admitting that like 20 years ago she did not even know what the word autism meant because it was rare. This was before the GMOs foods could become popular. However, following the

Monsanto is an American agrochemical corporation which manufactures pesticides and GMO crops. One of the most well recognized herbicides is Monsanto’s Roundup, which contains the carcinogen glyphosate. To prevent from killing the crops when farmers apply Roundup to their fields, Monsanto invented GMO versions of many staple crops such as corn, soybeans, and cotton which resist Roundup. Like the weeds, these GMO crops still absorb glyphosate, however the crops are able to stay alive through changes in their genetic makeup which make them herbicide resistant. The herbicide tolerance of certain crops has been adopted because it, “simplifies weed control to the use of a single herbicide and a flexible and easy management strategy” (Labrada, 2003), as well as decreasing the cost of weed control programs. As a result, Monsanto bought out most small farms and now owns 80% of the U.S. market share of corn and 93% of the U.S. market share of soy, which are then sold to modern food processing. Upwards of 75% of the processed food on American supermarket shelves contain genetically engineered ingredients. Not only are Americans consuming massive amounts of GMOs, which pose a huge health risk themselves, they are also consuming massive amounts of glyphosate, a chemical known to cause cancer and birth defects (Kruger, 2014). If society stopped consuming carcinogens, the cancer epidemic will be

Some people who are against GMO's say that the chemicals that are injected into foods are pesticides and that they are harming everyone who consumes them. One way that people think that GMO's are bad is that they are causing mental disorders such as autism. Although geneticliteracyproject.org said "The scientific community has overwhelmingly agreed that there is no causal link between GMOs and autism." So if the actual scientific proof is there to disprove that there is a link between GMO's and autism then what

Food insecurity is a fact for millions of American every day in our country. Children, adults, and the elderly of all races, living in poverty or in lower middle class families, are at a higher risk of not having enough to eat. The United States, in 2012, used roughly 40% or 915 million acres of all US land as farmland (USDA 2014, 1), yet as a nation we cannot feed all of our people. The American government subsidizes commodity crops, such as corn, wheat, and soy more than any other type of crop in the United States, (This does not include the subsidies directly paid to the meat and dairy industry, which is a whole other paper!). Government subsidies are less common for the production of fresh fruits and vegetables. Government subsidies encourage farmers to grow commodity crops instead of growing fruits and vegetables for consumers at competitive prices creating food insecurity. The cheap production of commodity crops force families in the lower middle class and poverty to choose a diet of processed food, which are less nutritious than fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains causing many of the health problems that we see in the population today.

“In 2010, Russian biologist Alexey V. Surov released the results of a study testing the effects of Monsanto’s genetically modified soy on hamsters. After monitoring three generations over a two year period, third generation hamsters not only lost the ability to reproduce, but even began growing hair inside their mouths” (Gardener). Gardener provides evidence from a biologist’s study based on only one type of GM food, which was soy, to see the differences that would occur during the whole process of feeding GM food to hamsters. Throughout the study the biologist found that after three whole generations the hamster off springs could not reproduce anymore and observed that there was hair growing in their mouths, this was a genetic disorder that occurred throughout the three generations. “A scientific study published last year concluded that eating genetically modified corn (GM corn) and consuming trace levels of Monsanto’s Roundup chemical fertilizer was linked with rats developing shockingly large tumors, widespread organ damage, and premature death” (Adams). This study was published in 2012 and is also

94% of the soybeans and 72% of the corn grown in the US are genetically engineered to be Roundup Ready, or able to withstand Monsantos Roundup herbicide or its generic form glyphosate. While Monsanto initially marketed Roundup as being “safer than table salt,” several studies have pointed to health risk. In 08 study in Sweden linked Roundup exposure to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In 07 study in Ecuador found a higher degree of DNA damag in a population that had been aerially sprayed. DNA damage can ultimately lead to cancer or birth defects. In 03 study of tadpoles exposed to Roundup in Argentina found a higher incidence of skull, eye, and tail abnormalities. Corresponding to that study, a 09 study in Paraguay found that women exposed to Roundup

Take a walk through your pantry cupboard and start reading your can labels. I can guarantee you many of those canned vegetables are being grown and produced in other countries. Then imported for American consumers. When we look at the great heartland of America, why would we need to import food when we are perfectly capable of growing food in our own homeland?

Allergies, Autism, Cancer, and many other serious diseases are becoming more and more common in the United States. As scientists and doctors try to find reasoning behind the drastic incline of some of these diseases, most seem to respond with a similar answer, GMOs. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organisms and are created by mixing nature with science. Although it does not sound horrible, the outcomes are extremely negative. Over 60 countries have banned GMO crops and seeds because of the horrible effects of ingesting the food produced. Therefore, genetically modified organisms should be banned from the United States as well. They should be banned because they cause several health issues including gluten disorders, the sudden increase of autism diagnostics, and the unexplainable agitated behaviors of children and animals. Some other effects include the harm to the environment and the increasing usage of pesticides.

Genetically modified organisms has affected 50% of children in the United States to suffer chronic diseases, and 21% of children to have developmental disorders. This epidemic stems from the fact that GMOs cause damage to nature and humanity by destroying ecosystems, by being toxic when eaten, and by spreading its genes to organisms that has not yet been modified genetically.

The gastrointestinal (GI) symptomatology affecting autistic kids appear to resemble the same problems in animals fed with GMO food. In both, the inflammation in the GI tract increased permeability, caused the imbalances in the intestinal bacteria and the” leaking gut effect”. The GMO grains modified food was introduced in 1990 to feed farm animals and increase the productivity and resistance to diseases supposedly. In contrast, an increased of the incidence of ileitis on animals increased proportionally with the introduction of these products. This thesis was corroborated when the affected animals switched to non-GMOs nutrition and all signs and symptoms disappeared, digestion improved, antibiotic treatment of the animals was not necessary causing improvement of health and milk production. Non- GMOs nutrition increased also the conception rate in the animal and even the behavioral issues documented like agitation, irritability, nervousness and antisocial behaviors improved and /or disappeared too, concluding that GMOs diet was affecting animals ‘health and natural and organic nutrition cured them and actually, improved productivity of the animals.

With a growing population there is fear that the world won’t have enough food to keep up. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) have been introduced as safe for human consumption to our market since 1996 without sufficient safety testing. Evidence points to no necessity for GMO food (not to mention harmful affects) and therefore it should be banned from the United States just like it has been in multiple other countries. Some things this paper will cover is how GMOs are made, who makes them, what affects they have on the environment, and what a safe alternative is.

Another study, published in 2009, in the International Journal of Biological Sciences, this research showed many health affects caused by pesticide and herbcide roundup. Sandra Clark wrote ; “ ...concluded that 3 varieties of GM corn all of which were modified to be tolerant of the herbicide Roundup, were associated with damage mostly to the kidneys and liver. Damage was also noticed in the heart, adrenal glands, spleen and blood flow system”. A research paper published in 2012, by Lauren Williamson, explained various harmful affects to humans caused by GMOs in the past years. For example, Williamson recalled; “Consuming these genetically altered and more processed foods can lead to increased risk of diseases and even cancer… More and more children are having life-threatening allergies, which can be contributed to increased GMO intake. Already 37 people have died from side effects of GMOs, 1,500 partially paralyzed and 5,000 were temporarily handicapped by chemicals used in harvesting GMOs” (Williamson, 2012). Therfore, it is evident that GMOs are infact harmful to our health and increased the risk of developing disabilities and diseases.

This paper explores the history, uses, advantages, and disadvantages of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). All of the examples exhibited explore different aspects of GMOs found in recent research. From growing GMO crops to the health factors of eating GMO crops, this investigation illustrates vital information to form one’s own opinion on GMO use. Most farmers are in support of GMO crops because they are produced quickly and in large quantities. Some consumers are in support of GMO crops because they are fairly inexpensive and can have desirable traits such as long shelf life. However, will the low price of GMO crops outweigh the possible diseases that GMO crops can cause to the human body or the negative environmental consequences? Another issue is the fact that Americans usually do not know what they are consuming due to lax labeling requirements. The food industry is rapidly changing with the addition of technology. GMOs are just one example of biotechnology being brought to the table. Keywords: Genetically modified organisms, GMO crops, health, consumers, environmental, biotechnology

Recently, the topic of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has raised controversy in both the public and private sectors. Much of this relates to GMOs in food and crop and the potential consequences of consuming such produce on a large-scale basis as is becoming increasingly commonplace in the United States. These concerns, when coupled with the often concerning practices in animal feedlots, have begun to create almost a panic in the minds of consumers who find themselves questioning what they are eating. A greater understanding of genetically modified organisms, especially as it relates to food, is necessary for people to truly weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the increased use of GMOs.