When hearing the letters GMO combined, a plethora of seemingly synonymous words could come to mind, for example, immoral or evil. Even though GMOs are looked at notoriously, they hold the potential to help many people in different ways in all aspects of life.
As will be focused on, consumers and farmers of different types of agriculture are quick to judge the gradual introduction of GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, into the food we consume daily. What a large portion of these consumers are not aware of, however, are the benefits and potential benefits that GMOs can present to society should they be approved everywhere the benefits of the organisms would be of colossal help.
Before a side is picked between whether GMOs are
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(Farm Wars)
As the graph above shows, the amount of consumers developing cancer after ingesting genetically modified corn and soy has increased from its date of approval. Illness is an increasing problem with GM foods. “Genes inserted into GM soy, for example, can transfer into the DNA of bacteria living inside us, and that the toxic insecticide produced by GM corn was found in the blood of pregnant women and their unborn fetuses.” (Institute for Responsible Technology) Not only have illnesses skyrocketed, but now side effects are developing that were non-existent until
GM foods were introduced. “. . . irrespective of the type of genes that are inserted, the very process of creating a GM plant can result in massive collateral damage that produces new toxins, allergens, carcinogens, and nutritional deficiencies.” (Institute for Responsible Technology)
Also linked to illness is the use of herbicide. Many GMOs are created to be tolerant to the herbicides used to protect the crops against weeds. When engineered this way, an extra 383 million tons of herbicide is used on the crops. Most of this herbicide is of a brand called
Roundup, which “. . . is linked with sterility, hormone disruption, birth defects, and cancer.”
(Institute for Responsible Technology) As proven, GMOs present many horrifying problems to consumers. When seeing the facts, many may wonder if there are benefits. If so, what are those benefits? When it
The main ingredient used in Monsanto produce is glyphosate. Companies are injecting the plants’ seeds with glyphosate, which alters the plants’ DNA. Glyphosate is an herbicide, the same chemical used in Roundup. It is toxic to plants. Glyphosates’ purpose is to kill off unwanted weeds. Companies are injecting chemicals, whose main purpose is to kill plants, into the DNA of our foods (Hamblin). The World Health Organization (WHO) cancer agency has declared that glyphosate is a “probable human carcinogen” (Hamblin). Research conducted by WHO shows that glyphosate increases breast cancer cell growth. Researchers determined that Monsanto’s Roundup is an “exnoestrogen,” which is an unknown estrogen that imitates real estrogen in our bodies. This manipulation of estrogen can cause several problems within our bodies, such as “increased risk of various cancers, premature puberty, thyroid issues, infertility, and more”
People tend to overlook the geographical location of Figueroa Boulevard and plainly assume residents of the area were working-class Mexican American without realizing that there are three distinct neighborhoods on this very street. In his work, “Los Angeles Geopolitics and the Zoot Suit Riots, 1943,” Eduardo Obregon Pagan notes the three neighborhoods along Figueroa Boulevard “the farther south in traveled in downtown area, the affluence of the neighborhoods grew in proportion to the whiteness of the residents.”5 This appears to be true since the neighborhood appeared to become more modern as one move down from Figueroa Boulevard. The residents of Chavez Ravine were native to the United States with Mexican origin with some immigrants from Central Europe and Italy. The neighborhood is considered to be old-fashioned since it was
Social work is a service that provides 'universalist services outside the market on the principle of need' (Titmuss, 1974, p.146). It maintains welfare of the public, and its basic role in adult social care is to focus on individuals, families and communities, and to ensure their well-being. By doing so, social workers improve quality of life, and serve for betterment of the whole community, thus enabling a social change. Today, much of these social work services is guaranteed by social policies and laws, which ensure delivery of social care to different individuals. However, there are significant drawbacks in social work practice, and issues that need to be addressed by the public and by social workers themselves. This essay
The article opened by portraying a future world where natural seeds were virtually extinct. This frightened me because the idea of solely relying on GM food seemed unhealthy and unsafe. Referring back to the article, research conducted by feeding rats GM potatoes resulted in massive systematic health problems. Health issues such as damaged immune system, higher blood sugar, and pre-cancerous cell growth frightened me. The rats’ response to GM food demonstrated exactly what will happen to us humans if we were to consume the exact GM foods. Though I was alarmed by the cause of the GM food, I am not surprised that GM products result in horrific amount of health hazard. It is clear that anything artificial would contain different chemicals and is highly susceptible in causing undesirable reactions to living things. Hence, it worries me that the use of GM product,
However, the use of the GM seeds for food production can quickly render a harmful impact to the user. Lee & Burrell (2002) stated, “Intense concerns about the uncertain health and environmental of GM farming have been the subject of high profile debate. The effects of GM farming on existing forms of agriculture, raised by the prospect of cross-pollination by GM seed, provoke similarly polarized views” It is common that genetic engineering process often takes place by joining different genes of plants together to come up with a whole species of the plant. Unfortunately, this process can easily result in coming up with plants with genes that are harmful to the consumers. Most of the genetically modified food staffs can
GM foods are in the middle of many controversial issues; primarily these are addressed by conflicts over the relative pros and cons of GM foods. Major biotech companies like ‘Monsanto ' and ‘Cargill ' are promoting GM foods by focusing only on their beneficial aspects, giving least importance to their negative effects on safety, environment and biodiversity. On the other hand, governmental regulators and nongovernmental organizations, along with some scientists, are strictly opposing this type of blind promotion of GM food by enlightening the people on their negative effects The controversies associated with GM foods include issues such as safety, environmental benefits and risks, biodiversity, and ethical and social considerations.GM foods are implicated for adverse human health risks like people being allergic to it, environmental hazards such as development of super weeds, and pesticide and antibiotic resistance in disease causing organisms. On the other
Sieradzki, et al.. In the article, authors investigate the possibility of DNA Fragments within the digestive tract after the consumption of popular GM Soy and Maize, RR Soy and MON810 respectively. I will then refute with a source by Qingfeng Guan, et al., which argues DNA Fragments will degrade not only over time, but under high temperature and pressure. In addition to the article by Qingfeng Guan, et al., a source by Flachowsky, G., et al. examples the possible nutritional improvements that GM crops have to offer. The use of the article by Deb, R., et al, will also be used as the backing for my claim. Information that will be provided from the source will disprove my claim by examining the dangers in GM Food specifically the mycotoxins, or mold entering the consumer’s body. Authors also formed a rebuttal by foreseeing improvement to GM crops in the future, which then the article by G. Flachowsky can also support by adding the apparent improvement between first generation and second generation
Meanwhile, a growing body of evidence connects GMOs with health problems, environmental damage and violation of farmers’ and consumers’ rights.
There are two types of GMO; herbicide tolerant and self-generating insecticide. “The herbicide tolerant variety are designed to survive high doses of toxic weed killers” (Must-Avoid Foods: Linking GMO to Toxicity and Disease, 2012). When the toxic weed killers get used on these crops, some of the toxins end up in the weed in the food. What is alarming is that the toxic weed killers are actually linked to birth defects, cancer, and hormone disruption (Must-Avoid Foods: Linking GMO to Toxicity and Disease, 2012). The self-generating insecticide such as corn, produces their own insecticide in each and every cell (Swanson, Genetically Modified Organisms and the deterioration of health in the United States, 2013). When insects eats the corn or any other food with the insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) toxin, the insecticide breaks open the stomach of insects in order to kill them. Although this supposedly applies only to insects, studies have shown that the BT-toxin can also break the wall of
According to Jeffrey Smith, this process can cause the organisms to have unknown effects such as toxins, diseases, and nutritional problems (2006). Along with that, the health risks from consuming products containing GMOs are enough to turn people away. According to the American Academy of Environmental Science, “several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen, and gastrointestinal system”(2009). Finding out that GMOs caused all of these issues to animals, people will start to question the safety of the GM food products. This alone can scare the consumers and discourage them from purchasing products containing GMOs. However, that may no longer be a choice
The genetic engineering of foods has, in one sense, been in existence for hundreds of years. The first time Gregor Mendel bred different varieties of pea plants to observe the various traits present in their offspring, the concept was born. Today, genetic engineering has developed into one of the most complex and advanced fields of scientific thinking, all the while provoking many questions and acquiring many opponents along the way. While there are compelling arguments presented for each side of the issue, the simple fact is that genetically modified (GM) foods are a reality, especially in the United States, as they are already present in many products that are consumed on a daily
Genetically modified organisms appear to be abnormal, but due to scientific research and plain evidence, GMOs are quite agreeable and safe. To first oppose or accept a new concept, one must first reach out and study what he or she doesn’t know. Genetically modified organisms are created by conveying genetic information from one organism to another to get the desired trait.
Death Death is inevitable for every person, but what happens after death? Every single person is destined to die at some point in their life and no one can change that fact. In the poem “Because I could not stop for Death”, Emily Dickinson offers her thoughts on what happens to a person after death. She concludes that every person heads toward eternity.
Most of the promises made by these corporations are promises of luxury, not necessity, and carry an inherently and dangerous risk. As science continues to understand further the basic element of life, DNA, the danger involved genetically modifying organisms becomes apparent. The beneficial potential genetic engineering brings are attractive, but paradoxically it also brings disastrous potential at a greater degree. The qualities brought forth by these GM foods are not necessary for our survival and only brings forth dangerous consequences to our health, environment, and economy. In order to
“70 percent of our corn farmland and 93 percent of soy farmland are planted with crops genetically engineered to resist pests and herbicides and increase crop yields. 60% of all the processed foods in the United States are genetically modified; a shocking statistic has the concern of many Americans. However, most people are uninformed about the beneficial impact that genetically modified food has on their diet. GM is the use of molecular biology technology to modify the inherited structure of organisms. Genetically engineered crops increase nutrients, drought tolerance, provide more food for growing populations, and resists diseases and pesticides. Genetically engineered foods are crucial to the improvement of economy, agriculture, society, and health choices. The creation of GM foods was one of the most significant breakthroughs in food industry. Genetically modifying foods is a key component that is harmless for the enrichment of our foods.