Why Farmers Use GMOs Everyone in today's society hears GMOs and thinks that they are a bad product. Well that is not really the case, people have just put a bad name on GMOs. They are actually very beneficial to society. Now some may ask what are GMOs? It stands for genetically modified organism, they are used to make bigger, more developed products. GMOs use biotechnology to form a better crop. Farmers find them to be helpful, in crops, feed, and even animals. GMOs are like a well developed plant, it is stronger and produces a higher yield. Over 90 percent of corn, cotton, and soybeans grown today have GMOs. Farmers use it for several reasons. One benefit of GMOs is weed control. By using GMOs, the plants become resistant to numerous pesticides and keeps weeds down (“Benefits to farmers,” n.d.). This is very helpful because now a farmer does not have to spray as much pesticides on the crop to control
The countries using the most would include: United States, China, Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, India, Canada, Uruguay, Paraguay, and South Africa. European countries have been uneasy about GMOs, but are slowly adapting to the changes. They are seeing the benefits that are coming from it, as well as productivity of other countries. European countries get more into GMOs every year, realizing they are not as harmful as people make them out to be after all. Europeans do research over GMOs every year try to find more about them (Ruishalme, 2015).
Hearing all the positives of GMOs there is another side to it. GMOs are not perfect and there are some side affects to it. For example some DNA from GMOs can be entered into humans who eat them. A few GMOs can cause some gluten disorder, and increase your chances of getting the disease. GMOs cause tumors in rats that eat corn that contain GMOs. GMOs also may increase your chances of getting breast cancer (Katiraee,
To begin, In the U.S.A, Americans have been using genetically modified food since the early 1990’s according to “GMOS” 101 by Alisa Blackwood. The reason for
The process, considered genetic breeding, is much more precise than the regular breeding. While GMOs have been in food for 20 years, currently, the controversy over genetically engineered farms is larger than ever. 82% of Americans want GMOs labeled, but the majority fail to understand them (Swanson). 90% of all US grown corn, canola, soybeans, and sugar beets have DNA bits from the lab (Woolston). The United States is the top GMO growing country, with 70 million hectares of land dedicated to these farms.
The first claim, made by the bioengineering companies creating the GMOs, is that the products are "resistan[t] to insects or viruses, toleran[t] [of] certain herbicides and [have] nutritionally enhanced quality" (Maghari 2). With resistance against pests and tolerance to harsher pesticides, bioengineers claim to be creating a super food that requires less maintenance and costs less. In fact, for many developing countries, this seems a promising start to the end of w...
If we also make more of our food on farms, we can get more people to get jobs. GM critics also worry that transgenic crops could harm wildlife and cause lasting damage to fragile food chains. GM crops harm wildlife and wildlife. Since some birds and small mammals feed on these crops, they will soon disappear. They will disappear because they are making the crops pest resistant.
The United States is the known as the top country to use genetically modified foods, which isn't necessarily a good thing. What it all comes down to is money. It's companies purpose to cut cost as much as possible. Only rich countries can afford to modify their foods, but even the poor ones still receive these foods. The main reason food industries choose this is because they can create the same foods farmers grow, but in larger, faster supply which in the end saves time and money. Even if that means less jobs for
First, lets get a good understanding of what GMOs are. A GMO is a genetically modified organism. That means that is DNA (or its genes) have altered or modified to make it better, more nutritious, durable, resistant to certain things, and more. So why were GMOs created? The answer to that is simple, they wanted to make their crops durable. That means that they are genetically modifying their crops, giving them insect resistance, virus resistance, and herbicide tolerance.
GMO stands for genetically modified organism. It is a technique that allows DNA from one species to be injected into another species in a laboratory, creating combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and viral genes that are unfamiliar to nature. [Whole Foods] Genetically modified organisms were first created in 1983 when a tobacco plant was altered to resist anti-biotics and later in 1990 when genetically engineered cotton was successfully tested. This was a breakthrough for the biotechnology era of agriculture since it allowed the manipulation and creation of food. The six multinational giants that currently dominate the agricultural market include: Monsanto, Dow, BASF, Bayer, Syngenta, and DuPont. [Chemical Cartel] Together these companies have gained government approval, “particularly insect repellent traits and herbicide tolerance for crops, to help farmers improve their crop yields while keeping costs low.” [Moore, 2011] It would appear that these companies might just have the answer to farming problems and potentially world hunger. They seem to have revolutionized the farming industry and the food industry, as we know it.
The term GM foods or GMO (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques (Whitman, 2000). These plants have been modified in the laboratory to offer desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. Also, genetic engineering techniques have been applied to create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and accurately. For example, this is done by the geneticist isolating the gene responsible for drought tolerance and inserts it into another plant. The new genetically-modified plant will now have gained drought tolerance as well.
GMOs have their pros and cons, but in terms of their effects on biodiversity, the technology is almost solely negative in how it affects the environment. Genetically modified food can damage agriculture as it allows for less restraint on chemical usage which leads to stronger weeds and weaker soil. The crops can easily spread their genetically modified genome through the wind. GMOs damage living organisms by making nasty insects stronger and vital insects weaker. GM foods are correlated with the decline in mammal and bird health, and the introduction of GM animals like salmon poses a threat to the ecosystem of wild fish.
This has created a large amount of debate on local, national, and international levels about the safety of genetically modified foods to human health. There are many angles that have been taken from different groups on this issue. Some believe it is harmful to our health, with one source stating that, “mice eating GMO corn had fewer and smaller babies (Jagelio 2013).” Without testing on humans how are we to know these harmful effects aren’t impacting our health and reproduction. Other groups see GMOs as being both beneficial and having no impact on human health.
If crops were affected by droughts, disease and insects, having destroyed many acres across America’s Midwest region, the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) would not be beneficial in regenerating new crops. Genetically modifying foods (GMOs) “are plants or animals that have been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria, viruses or other plants and animals that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding” (nongmoproject.org). Most research done has concluded no positive benefits in using GMOs. There are serious health risks associated with eating GM foods based on scientific research done around the world. The purpose of GMOs are to increase production of crop yield and reduce pesticide use but research says otherwise. If farmers wanted to continue using GMOs to produce crops, labeling should be mandatory to allow consumers to have a conscious choice whether or not to eat GM food. Through research it has been proven that the use of GMOs to increased production of crops during a time of drought or disease have no benefits, just risks.
Some of the big producers of GMOs are Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenth, and Dupont. Not only are these companies producing genetically
Scientists have been changing genomes of plants and animals by integrating new genes from a different species through genetic engineering, creating a genetically modified organism (GMO). Consumers in America have been eating GMOs since 1996, when they went on the market. There are benefits to genetically modifying crop plants, as it improves the crop quality and increases yield, affecting the economy and developing countries. But there are also negative effects from GMOs. Consumption of GMOs has various health effects on both body systems of animals and humans. GMOs also affect the environment, ecosystems and other animal species. The cons outweigh the pros in the case of GMOs.
It is evident that the majority of American farmers utilize biotech seeds, because of the risks that the insect resistant and herbicide resistant traits help reduce. GMO's make the life of a farmer much easier as they do not have to worry about rushing to spray herbicides, to keep weeds out, or worrying about insects damaging crops and having to spray pesticides. For instance, Brian Scott a farmer in Indiana, when corn root worms starts indulging on his organic crops, the worms will cause a significant damage before he can react accordingly and eliminate the problem with the use of chemicals. These corn root worms won't affect Scott's insect resistant GMO corn because the pesticide is always in the plant. In addition, the GM corn was created only to harm a small group of insects and this allows for other beneficial insects to survive and assist the crops, since Scott did not have to spray pesticides. Farmers use GM crops mainly because of a reliability issue, not only are biotech plants easier to maintain, but they are less likely to cause a devastating loss. To a point where even insurance companies will provide farmers with lower premiums. Troy Rausch, another Indiana farmer, states "... when you're delayed by a couple weeks by rain like we were this year, the GM traits come in awfully handy for weed control". The GM traits are of much benefit to Rausch as they eliminate the need for him to utilize his time and combat against pesky weeds. The use of GMO's in the agricultural space eliminates many risks that would be common in conventionally bred
One of the most important pros about GMOs that everyone is concerned about is that it will produce a longer shelf life, which will make it safer to transport to different countries. GMOs can also supply more nutrients and help fight world malnutrition, making it better for Americans to eat, by making it healthier. “Seeds are genetically modified for multiple reasons, which include improving resistance to insects and generating healthier crops. This can lower the risk of crop failure, and make crops better resistant to extreme weather.” (Mandel).