What does corn, soybeans, and a Big Mac have in common? These products, along with many other foods are some of the most common products containing GMO’s sold today. Many people in the world go about their day not knowing about the products they are eating. What are GMO’s? GMO’s or genetically modified organisms, are living things such as microorganisms, plants, or animals that do not occur naturally. They are the product of genetic engineering, a scientific process that alters the biological makeup of a species, or combines genetic material from one species with that of another species. (DOC: Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs).) The reason the companies use genetically modified products is because they have higher resistance against many things such as diseases and harsh which makes it easier to grow without being wiped out.
The usage of genetically modified organisms in food production is a popular reason for outrage. Most people consider this meddling with genetic code to be disgusting or dangerous. Based off of the fact that GMO’s are present in a large amount of our foods, are they considered to safe? Scientific evidence does not show that GMO’s are harmful, however there isn’t any proof of them being completely safe either. Anti- GMO groups believe that humans should not be exposed to organisms that may present unknown risks. These unknown risks have caused some countries to go the extra mile for their people and refuse to get involved with genetically modified foods. In more than 60 countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of GMO. (non-GMO Project)
Advances in technology such as t...
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Union of Concerned Scientists. "Genetically Modified Food Could Harm the Environment." Genetically Engineered Foods. Ed. Nancy Harris. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2003. At Issue. Rpt. from "Risks of Genetic Engineering." 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?query=&prodId=OVIC&contentModules=&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=2&catId=&activityType=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010259223&source=Bookmark&u=mcc_glendale&jsid=4fb329ed167b739498be6f01e5a27d8a
A substantial percentage of the work on the ethics of genetically modified food has primarily centralized on its potentially nocuous effects on human health and on the rights to label
The word GMO stands for Genetically-Modified Organism and can also be referred to as Genetically Engineered foods, Genetically Modified Foods, and Biotech. Genetically engineered foods are created when one desired trait is isolated and introduced to another plant by inserting the certain gene. The process, considered genetic breeding, and is much more precise than the regular breeding. While GMOs have been in food for 20 years, currently, the controversy and genetically engineered farms are larger than ever. 82% of Americans want GMOs labeled, but 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. (Lee). These modified crops and plants for human and animals are created mainly for withstand herbicides or to produce an insectide. “No GMO traits are on the market for bigger yields, drought resistance, enhanced nutrition or any other consumer benefit” (Burnham). Overall, GE foods’ main purpose is to save money for large corporations.
Smith, Jeffrey M. "GMO Researchers Attacked, Evidence Denied, and a Population at Risk." SOTT.net. Sott.net, 01 Nov. 2011. Web. 08 May 2014. .
Lambrick, M. (2009). Counterpoint: Genetically Modified Foods Carry Numerous Risks. Canadian Points Of View: Genetically Modified Food, 3.
GMOs are created by inserting DNA from bacteria, viruses or other plants and animals into a "target species" to create desirable traits. Most food today is modified to be resilient against pesticides and/or herbicides like Roundup. The first and only genetically modified food approved by the FDA for human consumption was the Flavr Savr tomato, which was slipped on grocery store shelves in 1994. Scientists at Calgene Inc. altered...
Genetically modified organisms are “an organism whose genome has been altered in order to favour the expression of desired physiological traits or the output of desired biological products.” http://www.merriam-webster.com/concise/genetically%20modified%20organism%20(gmo). The United States were first approved for human consumption of genetically modified foods in 1995. The techniques used for producing the genetically developed organisms include cloning recombinant DNA technology. Primary uses of genetically modified organisms are mostly in areas of agriculture and biomedical research. GMOs compromise numerous aids to society, including enlarged crop yields and the development of fresh therapeutic agents which prevent and treat a wide variety of human diseases . However there are some concerns around the use of genetically modified organisms which include the risks stood to human health and the initiation of insecticide resistant superbugs. This essay will provide evidence to support the evidence that the genetic modifications of crops produces better results than selective breeding or mutation.
Are genetically modified foods safe? Genetically modified foods are crop plants created for human or animal consumption using molecular biological techniques. These plants have been modified to enhance certain traits like increased resistance to herbicides or improve nutritional content. This process traditionally has been done through breeding, but is not very accurate. Scientists have been using biotechnology to implant the gene that makes the plants act the way they want them to. Genetically modified foods have advantages and disadvantages on the environment and advantages and disadvantages on society. We have to weigh the positives and negatives to see if genetically modified foods are healthy for us and if we really need them.
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.
David H. Freedman uses statistics and emotion to help the readers connect more with what he is saying in his article. In the Article, he talks about the pros and cons of Genetically modified foods, how they are tested and if they can cause any real risks to the people. “Are Engineered Foods Evil?” appeared on September 2013 in the issue of Scientific American entitled “The Food Issue: The Science of Feast, Fuel, and Farm.” He also has written in Inc. Magazine, the Harvard Business Review, Wired and even in the New York Times. Freedman utilities a solid base of benefits and worries, a clean record and a way forward to educate the common people or other researchers on the effects of Genetically Modified Foods.
In this day and age Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) have become a topic of large interest in the media. GMOs are defined as an organism whose genetic structure has been altered by incorporating a gene that will express a desirable trait (Dresbach et. al 2013). Often times these traits that are selected are either beneficial to the consumer or producer. Currently, GMOs are being created at a higher rate than ever before and are being used in the foods that we eat. 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 about 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. These individuals site that , “Since GMOs were introduced into the food supply almost 20 years ago, there has not been one documented case of any health problem in humans, not even so much as a sniffle, linked to GMOs (Entine 2013).” They have also found GMOs to be beneficial to human health. Dresbach et. al(2013) found, “The biotechnology of gene splicing allows for the opportunity of creating plants that will produce food that is more nutrient dense.” With so many different views that all cite different information about GMO’s impact on human well-being, the question remains how GMOs affect human health?
“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.
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.
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are an organism, such as a plant, animal, or any microorganism, who’s had its DNA changed in different ways through genetic engineering that is not natural. It is an organism like every other organism, which produces thousands of proteins, but one or two of them are proteins that were chosen specifically by humans. It creates unstable combinations of plants, animal, bacterial, and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. The majority of Americans in the US consume nearly 200 pounds of GMOs each year. 90% of US crops are genetically modified.
Nacci, Giuseppe. “Genetically Modified Food Can Cause Disease.” Genetically Modified Food. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2009. 24-30. Print.
While many argue that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's) are beneficial, it has been proven otherwise. The term GMO is an organism where it's genetic material has been modified through genetic engineering or gene splicing. (NON-GMO PROJECT, 2014) GMO ranges from plants, insects, mammals all the way to micro organisms and bacteria. (EFSA, 2014) GMO's can reduce the need for herbicides and pesticides as well as alter components of food such as nutrients, However, even though GMO's has its benefits such as its resistance to pests and herbicides (Whitman, 2000) the disadvantages outweighs the benefits by far. Genetically Modified Organism are a danger to the human health because GMOs harm the environment and pose a national health risk in addition to economic concerns.