The Effects of Gmos
Kristen Eisle
English 2010
July 22, 2013
Synthesis Essay For my topic, I have chosen to research genetically modified organisms (GMO’s). GMO’s are plants or animals whose genetic code has been altered in order to give it characteristics that it does not have naturally. Scientists do this by cutting an organisms DNA and combining it with a new organisms DNA to make one new molecule. Plants and animals are genetically modified for reasons that I will discuss later on. Whether GMO’s are a good and sustainable way to grow and produce food is an important question, because we eat these genetically modified foods, and it does affect our environment. The two articles I have chosen are both peer-reviewed and have two different opinions about GMO’s. The first article, titled “GMO’s and Global Justice” by Kristian Toft, is against the use of GMO’s, explaining how they are bad for us as human beings and for our environment. Her biggest concern is that we do not know the extent of what these genetically modified foods are doing to our bodies because of the lack of long-term affect testing. When trans-fats were first introduced, corporations battled to get them onto our grocery shelves. It is only decades later that this once novel food has been proven to be extremely unhealthful. This could be a glance into the future of GMO’s. It is similarly a concern that GMO’s in food are causing an increase in allergic reactions. The process of genetically modifying a plant or animal adds new proteins that weren’t indigenous to the original plant or animal, causing an allergic reaction increase when ingested in the human body. Also, some GMO foods have had antibiotic features added to them so they are resistant to certain diseases and viruses. When humans eat them, these antibiotics features persist in our bodies and make actual antibiotic medications less effective. Toft goes on to say that GMO’s are banned in more than 60 countries around the world including, the European Union,
English 2010
July 22, 2013
Synthesis Essay For my topic, I have chosen to research genetically modified organisms (GMO’s). GMO’s are plants or animals whose genetic code has been altered in order to give it characteristics that it does not have naturally. Scientists do this by cutting an organisms DNA and combining it with a new organisms DNA to make one new molecule. Plants and animals are genetically modified for reasons that I will discuss later on. Whether GMO’s are a good and sustainable way to grow and produce food is an important question, because we eat these genetically modified foods, and it does affect our environment. The two articles I have chosen are both peer-reviewed and have two different opinions about GMO’s. The first article, titled “GMO’s and Global Justice” by Kristian Toft, is against the use of GMO’s, explaining how they are bad for us as human beings and for our environment. Her biggest concern is that we do not know the extent of what these genetically modified foods are doing to our bodies because of the lack of long-term affect testing. When trans-fats were first introduced, corporations battled to get them onto our grocery shelves. It is only decades later that this once novel food has been proven to be extremely unhealthful. This could be a glance into the future of GMO’s. It is similarly a concern that GMO’s in food are causing an increase in allergic reactions. The process of genetically modifying a plant or animal adds new proteins that weren’t indigenous to the original plant or animal, causing an allergic reaction increase when ingested in the human body. Also, some GMO foods have had antibiotic features added to them so they are resistant to certain diseases and viruses. When humans eat them, these antibiotics features persist in our bodies and make actual antibiotic medications less effective. Toft goes on to say that GMO’s are banned in more than 60 countries around the world including, the European Union,
Cited: 1. Tuft, Kristian Hoyer. “GMO’s and Global Justice.” Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 25.2 (2012): 223-237. Philosophers Index. Web. 23 July 2013. 2. Harry A., Kuiper and Davies Howard V. “The Safe Foods Risk Analysis Framework” Food Control 21. SAFE FOODS – Towards a new risk analysis framework for food safety (n.d.): 1662-1676. ScienceDirect. Web. July 27 2013.