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Genetic modification ethical issues
Genetically modified food controversy
Genetic modification ethical issues
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The GMO conflict started when Monsanto a biotech agricultural corporation started to produce seeds that were resistant to roundup and other weed killers. This way the pesticides would only kill the weeds not the crops. (Johnson) The consumers other known as the public got very paranoid about the untested chemicals and the modified crops that they were eating. This led to many protests and lawsuits that are still present in modern day. (wholefoodsmagazine)
Monsanto was one of the major stakeholders from the beginning, they made profit from the very first genetically modified seed they produced and they have been ever since. They
Monsanto is for a lot of people the great evil in the agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology because of the genetically engineered (GE) seeds, field where the company is the leader worldwide. The number in this industry has been growing pretty fast and the expectations for 2020 are very positive, with a 250 Billion US Dollars industry.
Monsanto Company are a public American multinational agricultural and agrochemical biotechnology corporation who leads in the production of genetically engineered seeds. Founded by John Queeny in 1901, the organization initially produced industrial chemicals such as sulphuric acid and plastics, including polystyrene and synthetic fibres. It was not until 1983, where the company was among the first to genetically modify a plant cell and conduct field trials of genetically modified crops. This scientific breakthrough shifted the company 's corporate focus towards the agricultural industry with the implementation of biotechnology. The company’s primary line of products consist of herbicides and genetically modified seeds.1
Monsanto which is located in 6 continents and 68 countries is the biggest seed company of the 21st century. Monsanto was founded in 1901, St. Louis, Missouri, United States by John Francis Queeny. Likewise, Monsanto Headquarters are currently located in St. Louis, Missouri where founded. Monsanto had about 20,600 workers in 2011. Hugh Grant, the current CEO of Monsanto, has been in this position since 2010. He has a salary of about f $1,391,356 per year excluding his additional profits.
Monsanto Company has been in many lawsuits due to its health, environmental, and financial damages. A worldwide protest boycotting Monsanto and GMOs was held on May 25, 2013.
Genetically modified? That alone should be a cause for alarm, and have you wondering, what exactly is in this that I am eating? Yet every day millions of American’s choose to load up on food filled with GMO’s, and not even know it. First we must understand what GMO’s are. GMO’s are any organism whose genetics has been altered using genetic engineering. We should not be tampering with nature, and should try to grow organically as much as possible. There has not been enough research on GMO’s to know the potential long term effects it can have on us, so this is why GMO’s should be banned.
Monsanto is the world 's leader on bio-technology and was found in St. Louis Missouri. Monsanto was not known as an agriculture company at first as it is now rather a chemical company of the 20th century. They are also responsible for growing 90 percent of the world 's GMO’s. On Monsanto’s website it states their goal is to help farmers around the world to produce healthier foods, conserving more, and better animal feeds while reducing impact on our environment. Monsanto 's GMO has been effecting our environment for years but have not yet brought to justice according to this video. The question is why? According to this documentary Monsanto created many hazardous chemicals for example PCBs, Agent Orange and recombinant
These are only few examples of the many lawsuits that have been filed against Monsanto since its creation in
GMO`s are starting to rapidly take over our food supply, but what exactly is a GMO? A GMO is a make up of DNA that is combined forcefully with a plant or animals DNA, and creates a new version of it. Seeing these products sold in stores for the first time people question what the change is from the natural, and organics, because when someone reads GMO they wonder if it is healthy and safe to consume.
Everyone has likely already heard the name Monsanto, the largest seed distributor in the world. Nearly fifty percent of all seeds in the world are owned by only three corporations. These companies account for trillions in fertilizer, pesticide, seed patents and herbicide sales annually. These companies have been building a seed empire within the food industry for over thirty years now and they have plans to patent every seed with biotechnology. Thoreau wrote in his book, “The condition of the operatives is becoming every day more like that of the English; and it cannot be wondered at, since, as far as I have heard or observed, the principal object is, not that mankind may be well and honestly clad, but, unquestionably, that the corporations
...to be resistant to the company's own Roundup herbicide This means that farmers are utterly dependent on Monsanto; a situation similar as with the United States. The biggest adversaries of GM soybeans are environmentalist. For example, floods are happening because of soya farming in the region of Santa Fe and Chaco where the Salado River begins. The deforestation and the low permeability of the soil used in soya farming contributed to more channeling more water into the river. On the other side, people claim that GM crops are required to fight hunger in poor and developing countries. Evidence shows otherwise. GM crops have increased the use of pesticides while increasing poverty. Over 170,000 famers have had to quit on their lands because they couldn’t compete with big GM farmers, thus leading to more poverty. Also, herbicides have introduced new health problems.
The past twenty years have seen rise to a new burgeoning scientific field: genetically modified foods. During the plant breeding process, geneticists interfere with the reproduction and modify the genes of the new seedling by introducing a fragment of DNA from another organism that possesses the desired trait. With genetic modification, scientists can increase the pest, herbicide, cold, and drought tolerance so that the crop can survive in harsher climates. In some cases, the nutritional value can even be increased (Ulrich 9). Despite the obvious benefits of more nutritious foods and crops that are hardier and more resistant to harsher climates, there are some concerns surrounding GM foods. Each new alteration can cause an unforeseen allergic reaction, negate the effects of antibiotics, or potentially cause some adverse effects to the environment (Falkner 101). Every newly developed GM food must be tested on a case by case basis as there is no universal method that determines the safety of all modified components. As a result, long term effects of ingesting food with altered material are unknown.
Thesis Statement: Research suggests that GMO's (genetically modified organisms/products) could be harmful for people and the environment because of their potential to produce new allergens, increase toxicity, decrease nutritional value, and increase bacterial antibiotic resistance. Bakshi, A. K. (2003). Potential adverse health effects of genetically modified crops. Journal Of Toxicology And Environmental Health,Part B, 6, 211-225. Retrieved from http://globalseminarhealth.wdfiles.com/local--files/nutrition/Bakshi.pdf This article is one of the pioneering research papers that addresses the potential negative impact of genetically modified crops.
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.
Some of the big producers of GMOs are Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, Syngenth, and Dupont. Not only are these companies producing genetically
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.