Genetically modified organisms, GMOs for short have the potential to solve a lot of the world’s issues revolving hunger, but are they considered safe for human consumption? GMOs are organisms that have been modified genetically in a lab, that is by tinkering with its genetic code in order to obtain a trait that would be beneficial to us such as choosing a trait that makes a fruit bigger. This allows us to obtain better harvests from our crops, give our crops the ability to create its own pesticide, or as stated previously make our crops bigger. The topic of GMOs is widely controversial among people because they fear that genetically modified foods aren’t safe to eat and are harmful to the human body. Although many people believe that eating GMOs is unsafe to the human body, I believe that it's just as unsafe …show more content…
If you look into the many articles that can be found online or in magazines claiming or stating that genetically modified organisms are unsafe for the environment or for consumption, you can easily tell that many of them don’t offer proper evidence to back there claims. This would draw me to my conclusion that these articles are nothing more than mere speculation. For example, in an online article titled “10 Reasons to Avoid GMOs” the author states, “The very process of creating a GM plant can result in massive collateral damage that produces new toxins, allergens, carcinogens, and nutritional deficiencies” (Smith 2015). First off, the author of the article fails to provide any sort of evidence pointing towards
One reason why genetically engineered crops are safe to eat are because they have no harm to the human body. A source that strongly supports my theme is by sciencemag.org they state “There is no report found with the effect on biodiversity or danger from interbreeding wild relatives and genetic engineered crops” (Haspel). If there was a danger in genetic engineered crops then they would not have been world widely used as a source of protection. This is a true statement because
Many will argue that Genetically Modified Organisms(GMOs) are not safe for human consumption, however they are almost inevitable for our everyday food consumption. Some argue that the recent increase in gluten intolerance is caused by GMO foods (Argument against). Other state that the risk to humans by GMO’s is relatively small (The GMO”). The bottom line is what people put into their bodies is a personal choice and a person should be able to easily tell if a product has been genetically modified or not.
In source A, “Is Genetically Modified Food Healthy?” by Laura Agadoni, “There’s a danger that modified genes can turn out to be harmful for human health and that the body could develop antibiotic-resistant genes in response to transferred genes.” Of course, no one want’s to take the chance of harming their own body. But in Source B, it states “Of course, we will have to make sure these crops are properly tested; that they work; that they don’t harm people; and that they don’t harm the environment.” Hopefully before the increase of GM food products, we are able to make sure it is properly tested and that they do not harm anyone or anything. Both sides of the story have strong claims behind them that have you switching from side to side. But in Source F, “Benefits Outweigh Risks from Genetically Modified Plants” by the UQ News, “The UQ PhD study found the benefits of GM plants and food outweighed the risks, finding no compelling evidence of harm to humans from GM
While these are valid concerns, they are entirely wrong. According to the World Health Organization in 2005, “GM foods currently traded on the international market have passed risk assessments in several countries and are not likely to present risks for human health” (Novella). Many of those who are anti-GMO claim that GMOs are not safe because they do not know enough about them or they have heard far too many conflicting reports. While there are many reports that claim that GMOs are detrimental to the environment, the three agencies that oversee GM crops, the FDA, USDA, and EDA, have ruled that these crops do not pose any real threat. Since the beginning of the GM crop in 1996, there have been 2,497 approvals of the safety of GMOs in the environment and 1,129 of these approvals have been for the food safety of the products (Monsanto). This further disproves the claim that GMOs are unsafe for humans and the environment and reassures that there is no risk involved in either the consumption or the planting of GM
A GMO is an organism whose genetic makeup is changed by humans. A genetically modified organism (GMO) is a plant, animal or microorganism whose genetic code has been altered, subtracted, or added (either from the same species or a different species) in order to give it characteristics that it does not have normally.
The good news is that most of the scientific community have found that GMOs are safe to eat. This includes the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and one of the world’s most prestigious scientific groups, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Not only are they safe to eat but in some cases, they are more nutritious. An example of this would be:
In addition, the media uses trickery to portray GMO’s as something dangerous and should be avoided at all cost which has influenced you to believe their dishonesty. The purpose of GMO’s is to enhance our life, not harm it. This may be through creating medicines for diseases, increase crop yield, produce food with higher nutritional value and much more. Article titles such as “Why GMOs Can Never Be Safe scare the public into believing GMO’s are bad even though the media does not have sufficient evidence to support these claims (Mercola). In fact, when recombinant DNA technology, a type of genetic modification, was first developed in the 1970’s, scientists themselves
Humans have been intentionally changing the genetic properties of animals and plants for centuries, through all the standard breeding techniques of the use of radiation and chemicals to create random mutations, some of them turn out to be useful, for example Genetic Modified (GM) Foods. What is Genetically Modified (GM) Foods? GM foods are foods that are derived from organisms that have been genetically engineered. Also they are called genetically engineered (GE) or transgenic crop that are generally made of a genetic marker. GMO have a very long history. In fact, they have been around for thousands of years. So perhaps the conflict over their safety shouldn't be about whether they are safe for humans to consume, but rather how they will impact long term.Even though Genetically Modified Foods (GMF) would increase food costs, these can improve yields for farmers, provide nutritional benefits,and help to alleviate the increasing global population of third world countries.
There are some scientists and experts in the biotechnology field who assert that there is absolutely no environmental or health hazards associated with the cultivation or consumption of GMO’s. According to Chelsea Snell et al., in a review of reports on GM feeding trials performed on animals there are no hazardous health effects. The authors of the report evaluated 24 reports of animal feeding trials, and determined that, “The
Recently, a few different studies or scientific papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals that questioned the safety of GMOs and the claim of the FDA that GMO crops were the "substantial equivalent" to its organic counterpart (which is what the FDA used to justify them not needing to receive pre-market safety studies before their approval!). In both incidences the studies concluded that more rigorous, independent studies are needed before they can conclude GMO crops are safe.
A Genetically Modified Organism or GMO is an organism whose genome has been altered by the process of genetic engineering so that its DNA contains one or more genes not normally found within. These genetically modified organisms are a relatively new phenomenon in the United States, introduced in 1994. However, beginning in 2014 these chemicals could be found in 90% of corn, cotton, and soybeans produced in the United States. The looks and taste of genetically modified organisms may seem inviting but are the health risks really worth it? In my opinion, I believe that while genetically modified organisms do have positive feel and comfort they pose a large health risk to all who choose to consume them.
The biotech companies claim that Genetically Modified crops, also known as GMOs are safe to eat. Yet there are no long- term studies that would demonstrate that GMOs are safe to eat. However scientific research shows that Genetically Modified crops instead could be very toxic, allergenic or less nutritious than the natural counterparts. Contrary to the industry claim, GM foods are not properly tested for human safety before they are released for sale. In fact, the only published study directly testing the safety of a GM foods on humans
Some scientists say that GMOs are perfectly safe. Monsanto has been promising that their GM foods will feed the world and save millions of lives. Author Jeffery Smith wrote, "In the 20 years since the cultivation of genetically engineered crops,
GMOs have already been proven safe despite the hysteria caused by anti-GMO advocates. In her opinionated journal, Chien Shanley states that in regards to GM foods, most scientists “Vouch for their safety”(1) in spite of their negative status . She believes organizations like the Non-GMO project are simply profit driven with their “$11 billion in annual sales”(2) and could actually care less about your health. This company is even known for their famous “Non GMO” stamp on foods which doesn’t “necessarily mean your food is GMO free”(2). This company's hypocrisy overshadows the true accomplishments of GMOs like the creation of a grain that could “combat vitamin A deficiency”(4) as well as GMO’s ability to “add to the nutritional value of food”(1). Shanley then says one of the world’s major genetic engineering companies stated in a press release that “they conduct extensive tests to determine the safety of their
They are produced faster, insect resistant, better tasting, more nutritious and environmentally friendly. Potentially, GMO foods have the ability to end starvation and feed millions of people worldwide, who currently go hungry. At the same time GMO foods can combine many vitamins and minerals into a single food source. This is an inexpensive, easy, efficient and effective way to end starvation and malnutrition. However, I argue that GMO foods are a serious risk to our health! GMO foods are made by transferring the genes of one organism into another organism. Majority of these genes are obtained from bacterium, an organism that normally makes you sick, which is why so many people are against GMO. We don’t know exactly what we are eating, where it comes from, if it causes allergies and what reactions take place between the two totally opposite genes. We, as consumers, have no idea whether the food that we eat is safe or not. I strongly believe that not enough testing has been done to clear GMO foods as 100 %