Monsanto, a massive agricultural company, introduced this new breed of potato in 1995. This modified potato contained a gene from a soil bacterium that was inserted into the potato’s DNA. This gene helped to kill the Colorado potato beetle without the use of pesticide sprays. Public concern for the New Leaf potato began to grow. Fast food chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King, quietly urged their French-fry suppliers to stop using the genetically modified potato. People didn’t like the idea of eating something that they thought was so unnatural. The New Leaf potato was quickly taken off the market and farmers were forced to stop growing them. This is an excellent example of what can happen when consumers are aware of what they eat. Ingredient lists on the back of most all foods show that the food we eat now contains some type of genetically modified organism. I believe that we must give the public the information they need to truly understand what they are eating. If most people knew what was in their food, they probably wouldn’t eat it. A massive public outcry against unnatural food modification is exactly what we need to stop these biotechnology giants from producing genetically engineered…
Consumers demanding the GMO or the non-GMO products will enforce what manufactures use to make the consumables. This sways the rate of consumption of each conventional versus non-conventional crops. This can be done by five % of the population consciously avoiding genetically modified foods, thus creating a tipping a point when the manufactures must re-evaluate ingredients (Smith 2012). With the advancement of technology the five percent of consumers is not a far off percentage to change the monopoly of GMO products. The use of GMO products affects not only the consumers, but it also affects the farmers and the producers in the market as well.…
Most Americans are unaware to who Monsanto is and or what Genetically Modified Organisms are, even though they support and eat them nearly every meal. On Saturday, May 25, 2013 I attended the March Against Monsanto that took place in Downtown LA with about 5,000 other supporters, protesting against Monsanto and making strangers aware of what’s currently happening with the future of our food system. This march took place in over 150 cities in 55 countries across the globe and still didn’t make the mainstream media. Less than five percent of people know anything about what they’re really eating, and if they do, they’re more concerned about carbs, sugars and calories rather than where the food actually came from. Monsanto is the world’s largest Biotech and Agrochemical Corporation that specializes in manufacturing products including herbicides, pesticides and patented crop seeds. They have convinced most of humanity, that through innovative science, they’re producing high quality products that are beneficial for the customers and the environment. They also claim that they are committed to safety and health in everything they do, but a lack of government-lead scientific research has…
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)/Genetically Engineered (GE) foods are the result of laboratory processes which artificially insert genes into the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of food crops or animals. There are many arguments both in favor of and against mandatory labeling of GMO/GE foods. Whether or not to require labeling of GMOs or GE foods also involves the debate over the risks and benefits of food crops produced using biotechnology. However, the overarching argument is consumers have a right to know what is in their food, especially concerning products that can cause allergic reactions. According to the Campaign for Healthier Eating in America, Genetically Modified (GM) foods are linked to toxic and allergic reactions, sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals (http://www.responsibletechnology.org). Because there is no scientific evidence that GMO/GE foods do or do not cause health issues in humans (because there have been no long-term studies), consumers may or may not be being harmed by GMOs. However, the safety of GMOs has been questioned by other countries. In fact, they are banned by food manufacturers in Europe and other countries, but, present in the majority of meats, produce, diary and processed foods in the United States (US). Many consumers in the US have no knowledge that they are consuming GMOs. If they did, it is now known if, similar to Europe, many would prefer to not consume GMO/GE foods. However, without proper labeling, the big issue of concern is, they do not know how to avoid them if they wanted to.…
1) What are the ethical issues in this case? There are a few ethical issues in this case, making genetically engineered food and distributing to the public without the publics knowledge is unethical. Another ethical issue is not knowing what side affects of the engineered food will do to humans in the long term. It is still not determined whether or not some of these GM foods will cause health problems in humans in the long run and should be tested like new drug have to be tested. It seems to me that the government is not as strict on GM foods like they are on new drugs being tested.…
Question 1: The ethical issues in this case revolve around the consumption of genetically modified (GM) foods. On one hand, pro-GM groups argue that potential risks need to be judged once enough scientific research has taken place. Until then these crops should be available because of their high per acre yields and reduced need for pesticides and herbicides. With higher per acre yield counts, crops could be used to help feed the world’s hungry. On the other side of the argument, anti-GM groups do not want wide spread distribution until further long-term studies have been conducted. Anti-GM groups wonder what the effects could be on the environment, how the food chain will be affected, and what the dangers are to wildlife and plants.…
Despite the ongoing, major clinical studies being conducted, the government put their greed before the public’s wellbeing, and granted Monsanto permission to plant genetically modified crops and seeds without the interference of the federal government. With the government stripped of their authority of enforcing GMO sales, Monsanto has broken their chains, and now has full control of the public’s food. If GMO’s are found to be harmful to the consumer’s health, because of this bill, the government will not be able stop Monsanto’s production and distribution. (International Business…
Do people ever truly know what is in their food? When they pop those irresistible fries into their mouths, are they really just eating a potato? According to researchers at Rutgers University, one in four people do not know that most of the food they consume is genetically modified (Hallman). “Genetic modification is the process of forcing genes from one species into another entirely unrelated species” (“GMO Defined”). Although some find genetically modified organisms to be beneficial to society, such designs are harmful to the human body and deficient to farmers.…
“To date no verifiable untoward toxic or nutritionally deleterious effects resulting from the consumption of foods derived from genetically modified crops have been discovered anywhere in the world. Many millions of people have consumed foods derived from GM plants - mainly maize, soybean and oilseed rape - without any observed adverse effects.” (Genetically…) Beyond the dark history of Monsanto there is no solid evidence that show GMO products are not safe to be consumed. The FDA approve the its safety to be put on in the market. Other than conspiracy we should upraise the possibility that bring to us.…
Ninety-two percent of Americans favor labeling genetically Engineered (GE) food because of a lack of knowledge about GMOs (Gay). Consumers Choice Counsel stated that if GMO food is beneficial, then the producers should be willing to have it labeled (Gay). Consumers have the right to know the content of their food, and the circumstances under which it was produced. Bacteria has become resistant to antibiotics, since antibiotics have been added to animal food, and is also used for plant breeding (Gay). Pharma crops, produce made with medicinal drugs, if consumed, could endanger that human’s life. Pharma crops, though beginning with a good intent, have many possible dangerous outcomes. Pharma crops were found growing in soybean fields, because the year before ProdiGene had them there for testing (Gay). Ventria Biosciences planned on moving to Missouri for growing Pharma rice, but a brewery and a food company, besides many rice farmers, opposed it (Gay). Why should the average individual know if their food contains GMOs? Some could possibly have allergic reactions (Gay). StarLink corn was found in food. The EPA had only said it was good for animal food, not human consumption. StarLink, even though the FDA denies it, is believed to cause…
The FDA (the Food and Drug Administration who is responsible for our safety over food supply cosmetics and other products) does not require any labeling of genetically modified foods. Because of this American consumers have no way of knowing if their foods are even genetically modified. “Religious leaders… insisted that the FDA’s failure to regulate and label gene-altered foods violates the free exercise of religion by Americans who wish to avoid such foods for religious or moral reasons”(“The FDA Should Require”). By not requiring these labels these families of religious backgrounds or people who don’t agree with these foods inevitably would feeding them to their families unknowingly. The people who are educated would also end up consuming the genetically modified foods against their choices and beliefs.A large portion of the the United states even agree with the labeling of these foods. “New York Times Poll found 93 percent of respondents were in favor of a mandatory label for genetically engineered food. A 2010 Consumers Union poll found that 95 percent of U.S. consumers favor mandatory labeling” (“Genetically Modified Foods”). This shows that the people agree that it is infact a violation of their rights, or at least would like to be educated, and deserve so rightly by enforcing labels on these genetically modified…
We must have science to make medicine. All of us have been to the doctor to get medicine at least once in their lives. Think about how many people would die each year if it weren’t for modern day medicine; a lot, right? So it’s safe to say that some of us trust in medicine but not the science of genetically modifying foods? Believe it or not, genetically modifying foods has been around for thousands of years. “About 8,000 years ago, for example, farmers in Central America crossed two mutant strains of a weedy-looking plant called Balsas teosinte and produced the first corn on the cob.” (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/engineer/)…
We hit the age where we can genetically alter foods with specific genetic engineering. Genetically altering certain foods sounds like a great idea, some companies modify their rice to contain a high amount of Vitamin A. That’s one example of the many genetically modified foods today. It seems like theres a high promise for genetically modifying crops to contain certain vitamins and to be able to withstand certain pesticides but there is the fear of the unknown. There are many reasons why people are against GMO’s such as the cross pollination of plants and the spike in allergies. “The percentage of Americans with three or more chronic illnesses jumped from 7% to 13% in just 9 years; food allergies skyrocketed, and disorders such as autism, reproductive disorders, digestive problems, and others are on the rise.” (Institute of Responsible Technology) It’s not for sure that all of the disorders listed will happen. That’s where the fear of the unknown comes in…
How many times have you eaten something without reading the ingredients label? In 1982, Genetically Modified Organisms were approved for human use1 and eventually mass produced to the public as FLAVR SAVR Tomato in the late 1990s.2 Many may think that GMOs will end world hunger, but it is killing us rather than saving us. If food companies continue to advertise GMOs as the savior of America’s hunger problems, the country is in for a surprise. Any food product being sold to the general public should be removed and banned because GMOs contribute to the rise of illness, contaminate the plants in our organic farms, and humans were not made to play god.…
For the past 25 years the United States has been putting their people in harm's way. They have been doing this by allowing government agencies to grow and sell genetically modified foods and organisms to the public without informing them of what they're consuming (2011 responsibletechnology.org). Most people do not know that a large quantity of the foods they are eating are not natural and are actually mutations of real healthy foods that take tons of chemicals and pesticides to create. Americans and their environment are being put in harm’s way due to government agencies letting detrimental chemicals be used without proper regulation to make genetically modified foods (2015 galegroup.com). The government…