Modified food Essay

â€Å"Genetically Engineered foods, also known as GM and GMO’s is the manipulation of DNA by humans to change the essential makeup of plants and animals. The technology inserts genetic material from one species into another to give it a new quality, such as the ability to produce a pesticide, or to include genetic material from Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt); a natural bacterium found in soil. †Mather R. â€Å"The Threat From Genetically Modified Foods. † Mother Earth News. April 2012. Web. 2 April 2013. Scientists have been undergoing experimentation of this method for over forty years, in hopes of perfecting GM’s which they foresee will positively enhance the overall well being of humanity nutritionally and environmentally. Jason McLure. â€Å"Genetically Modified Food. †CQ Researcher Plus Archive; August 31, 2012, Vol. 22 Issue 30 p1-35, p35 â€Å"Two techniques dominate the the GM farming industry: Some crops have been modified to be able to survive the weed- killer glyphosate, commonly sold under Monsanto’s Roundup brand. Roundup Ready crops purpose is objection is to decrease the need to till before planting, saving farmers time and money and reducing erosion and loss of soil moisture. Gylphosate is among the least toxic herbicides that can kill a broad spectrum of weeds, and thus is suppose to be safer for farmworkers and less environmentally damaging. The second technique is the introduction of genes from the soil bacterium Bacillis thurengiensis (Bt) produces a substance toxic to many pests but harmless to humans, wildlife and most beneficial insects, such as bees. While Bt has long been used by organic farmers, scientists have produced GM crops that manufacture their own Bt in the part of the plant susceptible to attack from pests- such as corn-plant roots prone to root- worm attack. †Jason McLure. â€Å"Genetically Modified Food. †CQ Researcher Plus Archive; August 31, 2012, Vol. 22 Issue 30 p1-35, p35 What was once fairly quiet contention over the controversy of whether genetically engineered foods were safe or beneficial for human consumption and environmental preservation, has now spiraled into a social and political frenzy. People are now starting to demand for a food democracy. Currently, consistent negative findings of toxins, endangerment to human consumption, and environmental hazards have substantiated involving GMO’s; overturning the initial positive scientific and GM biotech producers projections. Government, FDA, GMO and GMO seed monopolizing company Monsanto have been accused of collaborating in order to keep GMO’s understudied, in consumer markets, and unlabeled. GM manufactures claim that GM’s are for the greater good of the world, stating that GM can end world hunger, stop climate change, reduce pesticide use, and increase crop yields. Smtih Jeffrey. â€Å"Not In My Fridge. † Ecologist; November 2007, Vol. 37 Issue 9, p27-31, 5p If such a feat had been achieved, people would be rejoicing, but evidence has proven contrary. The main controversial arguments are; GM has not improved world hunger, GM has actually increased climate change, GM has doubled pesticide usage and now pest insects have developed an immunity to the pesticides, and GM has decreased crop yields. Smtih Jeffrey. â€Å"Not In My Fridge. † Ecologist; November 2007, Vol. 37 Issue 9, p27-31, 5p GM is dangerous for human and animal consumption, and is an overall risk to our health and environment. â€Å"Lab animals forced to eat GM foods showed damage to virtually every system studied. They had stunted growth, bleeding stomachs, abnormal and potentially pre- cancerous cell growth in the intestines, impaired blood cell development, misshapen cell structures in the liver, pancreas and testicles, altered gene expression and ceil metabolism, liver and kidney lesions, partially atrophied livers, inflamed kidneys, less developed brains and testicles, enlarged livers, pancreases and intestines, reduced digestive enzymes, higher blood sugar levels, increased death rates, higher offspring mortality and immune system dysfunction. † Smtih Jeffrey. â€Å"Not In My Fridge. † Ecologist; November 2007, Vol. 37 Issue 9, p27-31, 5p â€Å"Two dozen farmers reported that the GM corn varieties caused thousand of pigs to become sterile. Some also reported sterility among cows and bulls. German farmers link cow deaths to one variety of GM corn, while Filipinos link another variety to death among water buffaloes, chickens and horses. When 71 Indian shepherds let their sheep grace on Bt cotton plants after harvest, within 5 to 7 days 25 percent had died. The 2006 death rate for the region is estimated at 10,000 sheep. Since then more deaths were identified and toxins were also found in Bt cotton fields, investigators concluded that evidence strongly suggests the sheep death was caused by toxins, most probably Bt- toxin. † Smtih Jeffrey. â€Å"Not In My Fridge. † Ecologist; November 2007, Vol. 37 Issue 9, p27-31, 5p â€Å"Three French scientists analyzed the raw data from three 2009 Monsanto studies on rats and found that three GM corn varieties caused liver and kidney toxicity and other kinds of organ damage. †Mather R. â€Å"The Threat From Genetically Modified Foods. † Mother Earth News. April 2012. Web. 2 April 2013. â€Å"Organic farmers fear that their non- GM crops could become contaminated by the spread of genetically modified traits by wind and insect cross-pollination. Once those traits are in the agricultural gene pool, there’s no way to remove it. This is pollination with a life of its own, it spreads forever. †Jason McLure. â€Å"Genetically Modified Food. †CQ Researcher Plus Archive; August 31, 2012, Vol. 22 Issue 30 p1-35, p35. â€Å"Another environmental concern is Roundup ends up in wetlands because of runoff and inadvertent spraying, and Roundup damages soil,† according to Rick Relyea, University of Pittsburgh assistant Professor. Two Purdue scientists, Professor Emeritus Don Huber and G. s. Johal, said in a paper published in 2009 that the widespread use of glyphosate can significantly increase the severity of various plant diseases, impair plant defenses to pathogens and disease, and immobilize soil and plant nutrients, rendering them unavailable for plant use. The pair warn that â€Å"ignoring potential non- target side effects may have dire consequences for agriculture such as rendering the soil infertile, crops nonproductive and plants less nutritious. †Mather R. â€Å"The Threat From Genetically Modified Foods. † Mother Earth News. April 2012. Web. 2 April 2013. â€Å"In 1992, the first Bush Administration sped up the GM process hoping it would increase exports and US dominance of food markets. The opposite ensued and the US government spent up to 5-billion-taxpayer-dollars a year in subsidies to prop up prices on the GM crop that many countries at the time rejected to adopt. Following other countries refusal of GM, the US government went on to try and force other countries to accept GM, â€Å"resorting to World Trade Organization Lawsuits against the European Union, GM food aid for famine- stricken nations, even threats to withdraw funds for AIDS relief if GMO’s weren’t adopted by African nations. † Smtih Jeffrey. â€Å"Not In My Fridge. † Ecologist; November 2007, Vol. 37 Issue 9, p27-31, 5p â€Å"Monsanto and a few chemi- biotech companies ultimately control GMO’s and GMO seed supply. Funding for university level research is often funded or controlled by the agrochemical companies. Biotech companies deny access to their patent-protected GM technology. † Jason McLure. â€Å"Genetically Modified Food. †CQ Researcher Plus Archive; August 31, 2012, Vol. 22 Issue 30 p1-35, p35 â€Å"The FDA does not conduct independent testing for human or animal safety and relies strictly on the research conducted by the manufacturers of the products. While the main GMO producer, Monsanto, makes it impossible for independent scientists to study GM seeds. The biotech industry has convinced the FDA that GM crops are not substantially different from conventional varieties. † Mather R. â€Å"The Threat From Genetically Modified Foods. † Mother Earth News. April 2012. Web. 2 April 2013. â€Å" As the system now stands, biotech companies bring their own research to the government body overseeing their products. Multibillion- dollar company corporations, including Monsanto and Syngenta, have restricted independent research on their genetically- engineered crops, they have refused to provide independent scientists with seeds, or they’ve set restrictive conditions that severely limit research options,† wrote Doug Gurian- Sherman of the Union of Concerned Scientists. † Mather R. â€Å"The Threat From Genetically Modified Foods. † Mother Earth News. April 2012. Web. 2 April 2013. â€Å"If GMO’s fail, shareholders in Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta and other companies will see their investments plummet. According to Yahoo! Finance, more than 80 percent of Monsanto’s stock is held by institutional holders such a Vanguard and funds such as Davis, Fidelity and T Rowe Price. † Mather R. â€Å"The Threat From Genetically Modified Foods. † Mother Earth News. April 2012. Web. 2 April 2013. â€Å"FDA officials have openly criticized efforts to label GM crops and food. In 2002, when Oregon voters considered measure 27, with contributions totaling $1,480,000. Next was Dupont, with $634,000,† said Cameron Woodworth in Biotech Family Secrets, a report for the Council for Responsible Genetics. Biotech companies Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences, BASF and Bayer Crop Science, plus Grocery Manufacturers of America ( a trade organization), PepsiCo, General Mills and Nesde USA contributed $900,000, wrote Woodworth. † Mather R. â€Å"The Threat From Genetically Modified Foods. † Mother Earth News. April 2012. Web. 2 April 2013. â€Å"Labeling advocates, along with 40 other countries, including all of Europe, Japan, and China want any GM food to be labeled. † Jason McLure. â€Å"Genetically Modified Food. †CQ Researcher Plus Archive; August 31, 2012, Vol. 22 Issue 30 p1-35, p35 â€Å"Biotech companies claim that if GM products were labeled it would deter consumer spending, for by labeling GMO’s consumers would deem such products defective. Other high-ranking government officials have lobbied against labeling, stating, â€Å"If you label something there’s an implication there’s something wrong with it,† said Jose Fernandez, the U. S. State Department’s assistant secretary for economic, energy and business affairs. †Mather R. â€Å"The Threat From Genetically Modified Foods. † Mother Earth News. April 2012. Web. 2 April 2013. In March 2013, President Obama signed a rider which temporarily â€Å"requires the Agriculture Department to approve the growing, harvesting and selling of such crops, even if the courts rule environmental studies are incomplete†. http://www. foxnews. com/politics/2013/03/30/obama-signs-bill-that-protects-makers-genetically-engineered-crops-from-federal/. Which â€Å"prohibits the Department of Agriculture from stopping production of any genetically engineered crop once it’s in the ground, even if there is evidence that it is harmful†. http://opinionator. blogs. nytimes. com/2013/04/02/why-do-g-m-o-s-need-protection/ â€Å"The use of GM crops has become widespread among U. S growers of commodities, or big crops sold on future exchanges. Eighty- eight percent of corn and 94 percent of cotton, came from GM strains in 2012. Because corn and soy are ubiquitous in processed food in the U. S. , from corn- syrup- sweetened Coca- Cola to crackers made with soybean oil, its likely that most Americans consume a product containing a genetically modified ingredient everyday. † Jason McLure. â€Å"Genetically Modified Food. †CQ Researcher Plus Archive; August 31, 2012, Vol. 22 Issue 30 p1-35, p35 People should have the right and the choice to know exactly what they are ingesting and serving to their children and loved ones. â€Å"Just label it. †