Genetically modified foods are developed by combining genes from two different organisms which alters it's DNA and do not occur naturally. Biotechnology is relatively new so like most people, I turned to research to argue this issue with facts. In my opinion, genetically modifying foods have more harmful effects than they do beneficial. I am against their use because it creates safety risks for our health and animals, it can damage the environment and we have to deal with the total costs. One of the major impacts genetically modified foods have on us is the health risks that come along with them. Eating these foods increases the likely hood of developing a disease, which is on the raise for not only people but animals as well. What's worse is it can even lead to organ failure in some cases. …show more content…
When growing genetically modified foods, companies use a ton of different pesticides to increase their growth rate and size. What you don't realize it that when you eat those foods or even around them, you're consuming all those unknown, harmful pesticides. If those are damaging the land where they grow, imagine what they can do to your body. Some areas where these foods were grown is not usable now due to problems within the soil. Once the ground gets like this, it takes awhile for those chemicals to leave the soil for plant life to begin to grow again. 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
In an article titled “The Threats From Genetically Modified Foods” by Robin Mather, he has said that the use of glyphosate, a herbicide, can “significantly increase the severity of various plant diseases” which is very hazardous to the environment. In the same article “The Threats From Genetically Modified Foods” Robin Mather has stated that genetic transfers cannot occur in nature and are not so precise and predictable as people say they are. In another article called “Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering” from Issues & Controversies, it has been shown that genetic modification can affect many plants. For instance, the article stated that In Oregon, there was genetically modified grass that had affected plants nearby which began to ruin all of the crops near the genetically modified
Genetically modified foods or GM foods are foods that have been changed to improve the size of the product and to progress the efficiency of food production. Genetic engineering can be done on both plants and animals and are processed to make the desired characteristics that are required for selling. Genetically modified food has become a controversial topic because people have different viewpoints on which type of food is better for their health. Many protests were created to ban genetically modified foods because of the harm that it caused to the people and the environment. Although people have different opinions towards this topic, there are numerous advantages and disadvantages in producing and consuming genetically modified foods.
When we genetically modify an organism, we are creating an entirely new species. This can mean disaster for the surrounding natural organisms. These GM crops, which have been created to fight pests and weeds, can easily win in a competition for survival. Long-term effects include endangering these unmodified species, or even driving them to extinction. Another problem is that consumers don’t know when they’re eating GM foods. You might be allergic to fish, and then you go grocery shopping. You buy tomatoes to use in your dinner that night, with no knowledge that they have fish genes that can trigger your allergies. Allergic reactions to these modified foods are just another issue that comes up when GMOS come into play. Also, when we buy these foods, we’re supporting big industries that have patents on all these crops. The fact that people can patent crops just because they stuck some new DNA in them doesn’t make sense to begin with, but furthermore, the local, organic farmers who don’t want to, or can’t afford to pay these industries to use their patented crops are losing business.
In the U.S., GM foods have received little public opposition; this is largely due to the fact that food manufacturers are not required to label their products as containing genetically modified ingredients for fear of confusing consumers. Due to the lack of evidence that genetically altered foods are harmful, the Food and Drug Administration considers GM foods to be “generally regarded as safe” (known as GRAS) and no special labeling is required (Falkner 103). In the U.S., genetically modified crops are monitored by t...
Immune disorders, aging faster, infertility and much much more! That is what you are paying for when you purchase GMO foods. GMO stands for genetically modified organisms. GMO products are products that have undergone modifications that cannot happen in nature. GMOs are advertised as a better, more enhanced version. Scientists have altered the genes of GMO products so that it can grow in different environments, in severe weather conditions, and to generate more food. The truth of the matter is that because of these modifications, GMO foods propose major problems for our health, our environment, and our well-being. The manufactures of these foods will tell you that they are no different then food that has not been genetically modified, but if that is the case why modify foods at all? These manufactures will try to tell you that the food is safe, even better for you. I am going to tell you the truth. I am going to tell you the real reasons why genetically modified organisms are bad for our country.
The original idea of genetically modified foods was to alter food through genetic engineering to create specific changes in its DNA. The reason why GM foods were created was to increase farmer’s production of crops so that they would have a larger harvest and a bigger profit. Another reason GM foods were created was so that food would last longer on the shelves of supermarkets, and therefore save money. There are many concerns that come with GM foods, including health, environmental, and social concerns. The main health issues that people are concerned about are the chances that there could be unintended changes in the food that is being modified. Another health issue is that the GM foods could contain allergens. “After a protein is produced, the cell modifies it in various ways. The protein may be modified in the genetically modified plant differently from the way it would in an unmodified cell, and the modification could produce an allergen.” (Goodenough & McGuire, 2012) In order to prevent these allergens, scientists perform many rigorous tests.
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. GMOs can also bear consequences in terms of genetic pollution and alteration through contamination and mutation to adaptation to evolution to species extinction. Indeed, some claims are not well supported and may require testing, like genetic alteration through consumption or the validity of correlating animal health deficits with GM feeds. However, overall, GM foods clearly affect the world negatively in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem impacts.
“Genetically modified foods are a "Pandora's box" of known and unknown risks to humans and the environment. They have been forced onto the American public by multinational biotech and agribusiness corporations without adequate oversight and regulation by the United States government (Driscoll, SallyMorley, David C).”Genetically Modified Food is food which has been chemically altered by scientists during the production process to give the food more nutrients, better appearance, and a longer shelf-life (Rich, Alex K.Warhol, Tom). The importance of this issue is that these GMO’s can actually have a negative effect in our society in general. It could mutate in a negative way and cause cancer or other diseases. Genetically modified food should be strictly controlled due to its various detrimental effects on the environment, human health, and potentially insect/animal effects.
How many of you hear the words “genetically modified food” and immediately think “BAD”? How many of you scorn the idea that genetically modified foods are useful? How many of you have been manipulated by the media to think that all biotechnology is evil? Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have been genetically spliced to achieve a certain trait. As the demand for a larger food supply is increasing due to population growth, the benefits that GMO foods provide are being hailed as the only solution to the food crisis. However, many people are making inadequately informed decisions, and are pushing them to the back shelf. I will inform you on why genetically modified organisms may be the only way to a stable, safe future for the less fortunate.
Have you ever thought genetically modified foods are better or bad for you? People say it is unhealthy, contaminate forever, increase herbicide use genetic engineering creates dangerous side effects, government oversight is dangerously lax, the biotech industry uses “tobacco science” to claim product safety, independent research and reporting is attacked and suppressed, genetically modified foods harm the environment, genetically modified foods do not increase yields, and work against feeding a hungry world, genetically modified foods contribute to the coming tipping point of consumer rejection, forcing them out of our food supply. Some many other people think that is can be better for your health.
Consuming foods that have been genetically altered have serious health risks based on research done on rats by The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM), an international organization of physicians. Risks include infertility, immune system problems, accelerated aging, disruption of insulin and cholesterol regulation, gastrointestinal problems and organ damage. Many AAEM physicians have prescribed non-GMO diets for all patients to improve health conditions. Jeffrey M. Smith, an advocate for non-GMO, says scientific research shows the link of GM food to thousands of sick, sterile, and dead livestock; thousands of toxic and allergic reactions in humans; and damage t...
Thousands of people have become very sick from eating genetically modified foods. Some people have suffered from temporary stomach aches as a result of poor digestion while other cases are more serious. The more serious cases involve hospitalization from severe stomach infections and permanent incurable diseases from the messed up genetically modified food. A few people have even died from eating poisonous genetically modified foods. Genetically modified foods make up about 80% of food in America. Genetically modified foods are unsafe to eat, harmful to the environment, and cause socio-economic hazards.
Genetically modified foods are detrimental to human health. By eating genetically modified foods, individuals are also consuming all the altered genes along with the food, including the antibiotic resistance genes. This causes genes to be transferred to bacteria that live in the human gastrointestinal tract and the intestines of animals and this will be hard to treat with antibiotics (Bernstein, 2008). Eating foods that have this gene marker is very risky because we are already facing a developing crisis of antibiotic resistance. When an individual has a bad infection they usually turn to antibiotics to cure it and this may not be possible if genetically modified foods are putting antibiotic resistant gene markers in the individual, this may cause the treatment to be a lot more extensive and possibly life threatening. Not only this, but allergies are associated with genetically modified foods, when scientists take a gene from one food and put it into another food it can cause allergic reactions and other side effects (Vaesa, 2013). These days, numerous individuals are facing allergies that cause health problems and if genetically modified foods increase the risk of allergic
Genetically modified foods most commonly refers to the plants, which has been modified in the laboratory to enhance improved nutritional content and aimed traits created for human beings and animals. With progress in various types of technology, especially in genetic engineering, farmers and scientists have changed the way in which food is grown and made, raising questions about the methods, their risks and possible effects. It is not a secret that GMF-ed foods have spread out rapidly to the whole world. GMFs have raised concerns over their own beneficial in that they are resistant to diseases, produces greater yields, and it improves the nutrition of foods making the people unaware about their effects. Every time we go to any grocery stores or supermarkets, we would not know whether the vegetables, fruits or even meats being sold are genetically modified. To make this situation worse, most consumers do not pay much attention to what they are eating, when they are actually consuming modified foods.
The issue of genetically modified food affects every one regardless of age, race or geographical location. You are what you eat. What a person puts into his or her body essentially impacts their health as a whole. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are found in almost every food except for whole, organic foods labeled as GMO free. Genetically altered foods have benefits and disadvantages. The choice of being an opponent or a proponent to genetically enhanced foods is ultimately up to the consumer. Seed producing companies such as Monsanto have a monopoly over how our food is produced and what is acceptable and safe for human and animal consumption. The lack of labeling of foods that contain GMOs sparks controversy with people who believe they have a right to know exactly what they’re eating and if it is safe for their health. This is an issue that affects any person eating food so it is important for one to know the pros and cons of GMOs. I will highlight the supporting arguments for genetically modified food and in contrast I will describe the risks associated with GMO consumption.