The Effect of the DARK Act on Consumers GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are organisms that are injected with DNA from other organisms. This can be from a similar species or even from a completely different type of organism. According to Jeffrey Smith, a GMO expert and author, the attempted benefit of GMOs was to increase nutritional value and production, but “two main traits that have been added to date are herbicide tolerance and the ability of the plant to produce its own pesticide” (2006). The Food and Drug Administration currently has the control to label a food item containing GMOs but that is about to change. The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, or the DARK Act is an act that recently passed through the House of Representatives that would take away the laws for mandatory labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms. This can have massive effects on the consumers because they …show more content…
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
Although GMO can be helpful, it also can be reportedly damaging in relation with health. In 1999, a scientist conducted an experiment; feeding some mice GMO foods, and some other mice non-GMO foods. The mice that were fed GMO products showed signs of precancerous cells while the other mice were completely healthy. (Science in the News). After the information was given to the public, the researcher was fired. The public went into a mass of chaos. People stretched the story, others changed it, but nonetheless GMOs had been
GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. GMOs usually have been altered from another organism such as bacterium, plant, virus, or animals. They are also referred to as “transgenic organisms.” GM seeds are engineered in laboratories to have certain traits such as resistance to herbicides. 75-85% of foods contain GM ingredients. The majority of the country’s corn and soybean crop is now genetically modified. Corn and soybeans are also made into popular processed food ingredients like high fructose corn syrup. Not enough is known about the risks of GMOs. Consumers should have the right to know what’s in their foods and if it is genetically modified (“Genetically Modified”).
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
As said before, GMOs are genetically modified organisms, and can be dangerous, so experts say. They say that the GMO process causes diseases such as cancer or diabetes, and some also say that GM foods can cause allergic reactions. They are saying this because, as they have discovered, some companies have mixed protein from nuts and inserted into beans, which can be harmful
The human body is not designed to handle all the toxins that are put into GMO products, and as consumers, we should be informed of the potential harm we are putting into our bodies. Helke Ferrie, in his article “Evidence Grows of Harmful Effects of GMOs on Human Health” states, “…all modern human diseases are being caused by environmental toxins of our own making” (12), on the contrary, in the journal “GMOs – A solution or a Problem”, Mark Lynas claims that “… there has never been a single sustained health concern [caused by GMOs]” (132). Ferrie mentions multiple studies where GMOs have proven to “…increase the incidence of cancer, diabetes, hormone disruption, neurological, immunological and other metabolic disorders” (12). After mass amounts of research have been conducted to prove the dangers of GMOs, proof that has been gathered of the detriments genetically modified organisms bring to the human liver; researchers conclude, “… anything that upsets the liver must be… exceedingly
GMOs foods have lots of unknown factors coming into play. There are many questions to whether they are safe for us and the crops. GMOs foods have been connected to sterile and dead livestock, and damage to almost every organ studied in lab animals. Labeling might also be costing us more than necessary. Some say we should stop using GMOs altogether, but right now it’s difficult to see what choice has our best interests at heart.
GMO’s contain inherent health risks such as digestion issues, increased allergic reactions, and infertility. This should
The American Academy Of Environmental Medicine have found out, Gmos also cause organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders. They also discovered the GMOs leave material behind that leads to long terms problems
These concerns are about the potential of illnesses GMOs could cause. An article observes, “In the 20-plus years on the market, GMOs have not caused or contributed to a single illness or death” (“GMO Myths Vs. Facts”). There have not been any traces of illnesses after multiple testing of GMO products. Since there are only ten commercially farmed genetically modified crops in the United States, the possibility of people getting a disease from them is rare; especially because three of the crops are mainly for feeding livestock. People have believed multiple problems are linked to GMOs. For instance, “in 2013, the journal food and chemical toxicology retracted a paper linked to herbicide roundup and round up-tolerant GM corn to cancer and premature death in rats… they found researchers had used too few rats… and the results were inconclusive” (Colbert, par. 16). Since the researchers did not have enough evidence, the possibility of the problem being GMOs are
According to the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, A genetically modified plant could have lower nutritional quality than its traditional counterpart by making nutrients unavailable or indigestible to humans. Medical Daily stated, “There hasn’t been enough research to determine whether GMOs are entirely healthy for humans, although the FDA has listed them as safe. Some concerns include the fear that altering the natural state of an organism has unknown consequences for humans, and that genes meant to keep plants resistant to herbicides or antibiotics could potentially harm humans
Imagine this, a customer sitting down at a restaurant and ordering their favorite meal. The meal consists of corn, chicken, and a soft drink. All of these foods and drinks have GMOs, but the customer does not know what the repercussions are to themselves. The consumption of GMOs is detrimental to our bodies because of the unintended effects, the immunity to antibiotics, and the harms caused by pesticides.
This implies that the intake of genetically modified food leaves the body in an unnatural state and impedes the body’s natural mechanisms, which therefore endangers the body’s health. Dangerous side effects of excessive consumption of GMO in a diet disrupts the natural state of the body which can range from body toxicity, food allergies, negative reproductive effects, and sometimes even death (6 Negative Side Affects To Eating Genetically Modified Foods, 2010).
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
215). The positive aspects of GMOs is that it allows plants to be grown in environments that may not normally allow for the plant to grow. Food is less expensive as farming of the crop is easier; this beneficial on both a local and global scale. Furthermore, GMOs have been developed to add greater nutrition to the organism. The downside or concerns about GMOs is that there have been no studies that have tracked the long-term effects that GMOs may have on human consumption. Researchers concerns include health risks such as; antibiotic resistance, exposure to allergens, reproductive disorders, endocrine disruption, and accelerated aging. The FDS does not view or treat GMOs any differently than traditionally grown crops; companies that use GMOs may choose to voluntarily go there a safety consultation without any additional testing required (Kantor, 2013).
Much of the public concern surrounding the safety of GMOs stems from the process of actually creating them. This is admittedly not a natural process, which is a surefire way to raise critic’s eyebrows in doubting their safety. However, there is no evidence that supports these myths. The Committee on Genetically Engineered Crops, The National Academy of Science, and the Board on Agriculture and Natural Recourses all agree after extensive testing and observation that there is no additional harm in the consumption of GMO food. The research conducted in animal studies, as well as chemical analysis of the crops, show no indication that GMOs are negatively affecting human health. The next allegation hurled at GMOs is that they may have