The Harmful Effects of GMO's
The Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Organisms Genetic Engineering has been around since the 1970’s, but the process has become more complicated and ambiguous over time. A genetically modified organism, or GMO, is a plant, animal, or microorganism that has been produced to overcome any natural restrictions (Happiness). It encompasses eradicating the DNA, manipulating it, and then reinserting it into the original or alternative organism (Executive). Although GMO’s have some benefits, their harmful effects are far more extensive.
The FDA has purposefully made the effects of GMO’s vague because of the lack of testing. The Food and Drug Administration is a division of the government that is in charge of releasing innovative food and health-related products. They do not perform independent testing of GE, or genetically engineered products. They solely rely on the data that individual companies present to them. Also, because there is no law requiring companies to label foods that contain GMOs, it is nearly impossible to tell what different types of genes are in a certain product. There is an option for companies to label their foods, but not many companies would voluntarily do that (Safety). The FDA claims that foods produced with GMOs are the same as traditional foods, but their own scientists even say, “The processes of genetic engineering and traditional breeding are genetic are different and…they lead to different risks.” In other words, the FDA uses the consumers as guinea pigs (Happiness).
An estimated ninety percent of Americans want GE foods labeled (Safety). The problem with not having a labeling law is that there could be genes from something like a peanut in the food, and if a person was allergic, they would not know there were traces of peanuts in the food (Happiness). Scientists do all kinds of crossbreeding such as, genes from trout in catfish, protein genes from flounder into tomatoes, mouse genes in tobacco, and many other combinations. In
The FDA has purposefully made the effects of GMO’s vague because of the lack of testing. The Food and Drug Administration is a division of the government that is in charge of releasing innovative food and health-related products. They do not perform independent testing of GE, or genetically engineered products. They solely rely on the data that individual companies present to them. Also, because there is no law requiring companies to label foods that contain GMOs, it is nearly impossible to tell what different types of genes are in a certain product. There is an option for companies to label their foods, but not many companies would voluntarily do that (Safety). The FDA claims that foods produced with GMOs are the same as traditional foods, but their own scientists even say, “The processes of genetic engineering and traditional breeding are genetic are different and…they lead to different risks.” In other words, the FDA uses the consumers as guinea pigs (Happiness).
An estimated ninety percent of Americans want GE foods labeled (Safety). The problem with not having a labeling law is that there could be genes from something like a peanut in the food, and if a person was allergic, they would not know there were traces of peanuts in the food (Happiness). Scientists do all kinds of crossbreeding such as, genes from trout in catfish, protein genes from flounder into tomatoes, mouse genes in tobacco, and many other combinations. In
Cited: Adams, Mike. Shock findings in new GMO study. n.d. 13 November 2012. . Executive, Health and Safety. About GMO 's. n.d. 8 November 2012. . Happiness, Health Wealth and. Genetically Engineered Organisms (GMOs):. n.d. 8 November 2012. . Newsroom, FAO. Weighing the GMO arguments. March 2003. 12 November 2012. . Party, The Light. Bioengineered Foods. n.d. 13 November 2012. . Safety, Center for Food. Labeling. n.d. 8 November 2012. . Technology, Institute for Responsible. 10 Reasons to Avoid GMOs. n.d. 13 November 2012. . Tomasi, Nicholas. In Case You Forgot: GMOs Also Cause Weight Gain. n.d. 13 November 2012. .