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The Dangers of Genetically Modified Food Essays

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Many Americans consume thousands of pounds of genetically modified foods every day. Throughout the 21st century, genetic engineering tremendously impacted new research in pharmaceutical and forensic science. During that time, it also revolutionized the food in America and many other countries around the world. Using Recombinant DNA biotechnology on crops and farm animals helps improve nutrition and quantity of foods. However, crops that are altered with hybrid genes can also contain chemicals harmful to humans. By using developed biotechnology, scientists are able to inject viruses and bacteria into the embryos of plants to produce genetically modified crops (). The same is applied for transgenic farm animals to increase the size of the …show more content…

This assists physicians by supplying them with new knowledge about the diseases they are treating (Isabel). By identifying unknown pathogens, scientists are able to develop new vaccines that can control or even prevent illnesses from becoming serious. On the other hand, outbreaks can also begin in the pre-packaging of vegetables and uncooked meats. Recently, a case of cyclospora infection found in salad mixes reported to have a microscopic parasite. According to Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor at NYU Langone Medical Center, “The parasite is around people at all the time. However, the parasite found in the mixed salad cannot be transmitted from one person to another. But this seems to be from the handling of the mixed salad during production.” Another crucial way in which humans are harmed from genetically modified foods is obesity. Obesity stems from an abnormal diet with high calorie-dense foods which results in above average body fat. It is associated with increased risk of disease such as cardiovascular failure and liver cancer, disability and incapacitation from excess weight on the joints and bones, and even death from complications arising from the obesity – not the obesity itself. People are consciously ignorant about the foods they eat. “Obesity is the sixth most common disease worldwide. Approximately 1.1 billion adults and 10% of children are considered obese” (Haslam). Obesity is a chronic

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