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Effects of genetically modified food on human health
Health effects of gmo foods essay
Effects of genetically modified food on human health
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To meet fast-food chains’ expectations, one company decided to focus its activity on the development of components and materials in order to help the farmers all around the world to be successful, to produce healthier food for the human race and for the animals while reducing agriculture’s impact on environment (The World according to Monsanto). This company is the decoy of the modern society: Monsanto. It was born in 1901 at Saint-Louis and was a little producer of saccharin and created the first industrial scandal when one of its factories exploded in Texas City in 1947, killing 500 people (Seelow, Soren-Parr 3). A dark reality is hidden behind this worldwide company with an extremely high influence on the governments and mostly on the American government. The use of PCBs by Monsanto is a disaster. In 1949, a Monsanto’s factory exploded in Nitro, Virginia. More than a hundred employees suffered from ‘chloracne’, an important sickness of the skin difficult to treat. The company is declared responsible for this explosion: the famous product of the brand, the 2, 4, 5-T weed killer, produced in this factory, contains high levels of dioxins, highly carcinogenic and toxic substances which are like the PCB components. However, Monsanto known the dangerousness of this product, CBs were originally used as insulating from transformer station, but continued to commercialize the weed killer during 40 years until the Anniston case (Seelow, Soren-Pars 3-5). Indeed, in 2001, the inhabitants of Anniston, a little city in Alabama sued the company for PCBs contamination. The company is accused of having poured out 40 millions of tons of PCBs and other defects in the nature, using a stream going from the factory to the town (Parr 7). However... ... middle of paper ... ...ildren: dietary and nutrient intake profile." Journal of the American Dietetic Association 103.10 (2003): 1332-1338. Seelow, Soren. "Monsanto, Un Demi-siècle De Scandales Sanitaires." Le Monde.fr. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Apr. 2014 Spiroux De Vendomois Joel, Dominique Cellier, Christian Vellot, and Emilie Clair. Debate on GMOs Health Risks after Statistical Findings in Regulatory Tests. Tech. International Journal of Biological Sciences, 5 Oct. 2010. Web. Spiroux De Vendômois Joël, François Roullier, Dominique Cellier, and Gilles-Eric Séralini. A Comparison of the Effects of Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health. Rep. International Journal of Biological Sciences May 2005. Web Super Size Me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. Perf. Morgan Spurlock. Youtube. N.p., 7 May 2004. Web. "What Are The Human Health Effects Of PCBs?" What Are The Human Health Effects Of PCBs? Ed.
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
In 1966, Monsanto managers discovered that fish submerged in that creek turned belly-up within 10 seconds, spurting blood and shedding skin as if dunked into boiling water. They told no one. In 1969, they found fish in another creek with 7,500 times the legal PCB levels. They decided "there is little object in going to expensive extremes in limiting discharges." In 1975, a company study found that PCBs caused tumors in rats. They ordered its conclusion changed from "slightly tumorigenic" to "does not appear to be carcinogenic."
Challenges facing the Monsanto Company have been many. This company has been engaged in unscrupulous undertakings that have resulted in innumerable lawsuits against the company. In many countries, Monsanto Company’s products continue to be banned while others face law suits on their viability and safety of the public.
Monsanto is a multinational agricultural and agrochemical biotechnology corporation based in America and is the largest producer of genetically engineered seeds. Monsanto argues that using science and newfound research to create genetically modified food is necessary in order to save our world from starvation. Eduardo Blumwald, a professor of cell biology and employee for Monsanto, says that genetically modified food could be “the only viable solution we have for our future” (Ostrander 24) where it is predicted that the temperature and population will soar. Blumwald argues that without genetically engineering food to produce under high temperatures with little water, the world could potentially starve in this predicted future. Yet regardless of “biotech industry promises, none of the GMO traits currently on the market offer increased yield, drought tolerance, enhanced nutrition, or any other consumer benefit” (“GMO Facts”). Instead, Monsanto genetically modifies food to resist RoundUp, a pesticide the company has created to kill any plants or bugs other than the genetically engineered crop. According to the World Health Organization, this pesticide “is a probable human carcinogen” (“GMOs”) due to glyphosate, a
In 2014 they boasted annual revenues of 15.8 billion dollars. Monsanto has plans for continued financial growth. By creating Monsanto Growth Ventures, Monsanto provides capital for promising companies to grow. Monsanto is one of the leading providers of seed in third world country markets. Monsanto has gained a strong foothold in the global market by becoming one of the top ten distributors. Monsanto continues to improve its potential in profitability by investing in technological advances to aid farmers in improving their production. In addition to technology improvement, Monsanto continues to invest in product development. The company strives to create seed to withstand harsh environments. A big piece of Monsanto’s success is due to their ethical treatment of their employees. Monsanto take pride in providing a workplace where leaders are given the ability to grow and contribute to the company’s progress. Employee production increases and turnover decreases when workers are given intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. It would be highly beneficial for Monsanto to use their financial capabilities to acquire competitors in trending
Environmental concern about Bt crops primarily focuses on the risks of plant-to-plant gene flow and the risks to species not intended to be targeted by the toxin. Plant-to-plant gene flow involves the undesirable movement of Bt genes from GMOs to either non-GMO crops or closely related wild relatives of GMO crops. According to a 2001 report by the Environmental Protection Agency, "Bt Plant-Pesticides Risk and Benefit ...
Barlett and Steele’s “Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear” interpretation of Monsanto Company’s affect on the agricultural industry, its communities, and on consumers in the course of its aggressive expansion is both aggressive and unfair. Through the use of narratives and evidence, they reiterate and reinforce aliases composed by affected communities
Falkner, Robert. “The Global Biotech Food Fight: Why The United States Got It So Wrong.” Brown Journal Of World Affairs 14.1 (2007): 99-110. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2011.
Our current system of corporate-dominated, industrial-style farming might not resemble the old-fashioned farms of yore, but the modern method of raising food has been a surprisingly long time in the making. That's one of the astonishing revelations found in Christopher D. Cook's "Diet for a Dead Planet: Big Business and the Coming Food Crisis" (2004, 2006, The New Press), which explores in great detail the often unappealing, yet largely unseen, underbelly of today's food production and processing machine. While some of the material will be familiar to those who've read Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" or Eric Schlosser's "Fast-Food Nation," Cook's work provides many new insights for anyone who's concerned about how and what we eat,
In addition to the plant, the governments related in India that issued permits and provided incentives for the plant, Bhopal community officials who permitted slum dwellers to move near the plant in illegal settlements, Indian environmental and safety inspectors should also be responsible for this. The governments related in India issued permits because people need jobs, or people would starve to death. This was one reason in my opinion. Soft money from Union Carbide plant may be another reason for issuing permits. It was clearly that the governments in America would not issue a permit to Union Carbide plant under such circumstances, which lacked of severe environmental standards and permitted slum dwellers to live near the plant and so on. Such actions were the fuses leading to more deaths. Before the major gas leakage from the MCI unit on December 3, 1984, some people were killed because of phosgene gas leakage. However, no one took it seriously in spite of the report by media. One of the reasons that people ignore this was because people didn¡¦t know the potential danger of the chemical plant. The other reason was that there are not enough environmental inspectors to cover so many plants in India. Besides, those inspectors had a record of loose enforcement. Consequently, danger emerged just as the saying goes ¡§Nothing comes of nothing.¡¨
One out of every three Americans is obese and the majority of these obese people in the United States have eaten regularly at fast food restaurants. As the obesity rate increases, the number of fast food restaurants goes up as well. Although it is not certain, many believe that obesity in the United States is correlated to eating fast food. Since the United States has the highest obesity rate out of any country, it is important for Americans to monitor the fast food industry that may be causing obesity. With the pressure to get things done in a timely manner, fast food became a big necessity. However, when creating fast food restaurants, the industries were not thinking about the negative effects such as obesity. Other than obesity, other harmful effects exist as well. Fast food restaurants serve unhealthy products such as greasy foods and artificial meat that lead to dietary health issues in many adults and children. A recent study showed that “Young children who are fed processed, nutrient-poor foods are likely to become unhealthy teenagers, and eventually unhealthy adults. Now twenty-three percent of teens in the U.S. are pre-diabetic or diabetic, 22% have high or borderline high LDL cholesterol levels, and 14% have hypertension or prehypertension” (May, Kuklina, Yoon). The food that they provide is made to be eaten quickly, causing problems for the digestive system. Also, the health problems lead to the use for health insurance, which adds to the costs of Medicare. Health care costs will only worsen an already failing economy. Therefore, the government should regulate fast food restaurants in the United States in order to repair the deteriorating health and economy in America.
Many pesticides, that of which have many unanswered questions regarding the potential health risk have been authorized by the EPA Office of Pesticide ...
Over the last three decades, fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society and has become nothing less than a revolutionary force in American life. Fast food has gained a great popularity among different age groups in different parts of the globe, becoming a favorite delicacy of both adults and children.
The way that our society has been able to produce food has changed in the last fifty years that the several thousand years beforehand. Robert Kenner addresses problems of our society’s food system and how there is only a handful of large corporations that have basically taken over the food system in the United States in the film Food, Inc. Large businesses have been able to significantly produce vast amounts of food and set low prices for consumers, usually because of government subsidies, which results in enormous profit and greater control of the food supply sources. This leads to negative health, safety, and economic consequences. This documentary examines the exercises of the few large food corporations from the start of production
To help keep crops from being destroyed, conventional farmers use many methods such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Nearly 1 billion pounds of these chemicals are used every year (“pesticides”). Because of this excessive use, some scientists express concern that using artificial chemicals in the farming process could produce unhealthy crops. People who ate it over a long period of time could suffer from degraded health and stunted growth (“Organic Foods”). For example, in 1989, the EPA banned the use of Alar which was a chemical used to ripen apples (“Farming, Organics”). This chemical proved to be carcinogenic after causing tumors in mice after several laboratory tests (“Organic Food”). As a result of these findings there was a dramatic increase of the sales for organic food (“Organic Food”). Another study found that Atrazine (one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States) has the potential of being carcinogenic and reducing sperm counts in males (“Organic Food”). This was further proven when evidence was found that chemicals u...