What Are Gmos and Are They Safe to Use

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What are GMOs and Are They Safe to Use

Joseph Feraco

Consumer Health Decisions

Introduction

GMOs stand for genetically modified organism. They are created when scientists mix desirable traits like resistances to diseases and tolerance to various pesticides. To get desirable traits in these plants or animals, they take DNA from other organisms such as bacteria, viruses, or other organisms and place them in the organism that needs the desirable genes.

Research Question

The questions are do people know about GMOs and if they are safe to consume. In an article by Theresa Phillips, she says that “Most developed nations do not consider GMOs to be safe. In more than 60 countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of GMOs” (Phillips,2010). This explains that many countries realize that GMOs are not good to consume and are banned from production. In the US, GMOs are not banned and are in a large percent of the products we buy and consume. In the same article it states “In the U.S., the government has approved GMOs based on studies conducted by the same corporations that created them and profit from their sale” (Phillips 2010). The U.S not only is the production and distribution of GMOs approved, but they make profits for selling products that are banned in many countries. By looking at the previous citation, the U.S. government would rather profit from GMOs than be concerned with the health of the many consumers purchasing these products.

Significant Statement

Even if consumers are aware what GMOs are in a general sense, they still may not know what is exactly what is going into genetically modifying the products people are buying and consuming. GMOs are created by the DNA of other organisms. This does not only mean other animals or plants but DNA from bacteria and viruses. Many bacteria and virus DNA are used to create GMOs. These genes are used to insert traits like pesticide resistance and disease resistance. Though it may sound good that companies can produce more products but in reality causes health risks and even creates new health problems.

Literature Review

Jeffrey Smith says that “Numerous health problems increased after GMOs were introduced in 1996. 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” (Smith 2010). This shows how GMOs are creating a problem that is only getting worse. Avoiding GMOs is difficult because there are no labels of products that state if it contains GMOs or not. The U.S. government does not require companies to put the GMO label on their products. This is because the companies believe they will not be able to sell their product if they have to label their products as GMO. GMOs don’t only affect consumers but also affect the environment and small businesses selling non GMO products. Big companies like Monsanto mass produce cheap products such as food, drugs, pesticides, and herbicides. These big businesses generate millions of dollars by using factories, using pesticides and herbicides to quickly and efficiently mass produce. While mass producing products may seem like a good idea, in the process of producing they also produce toxic chemicals that are absorbed into the soil and breathed in by employees and surrounding citizens which creates even more problems. Just Label It discovered a study that links the chemicals used in GMO production to human health risks. “Human epidemiological studies have found an association between exposure to the chemicals used on our food crops, specifically those that have been genetically engineered to withstand them, and miscarriage, birth defects, neurological development problems, DNA damage and certain types of cancer” (JustLabelIt 2015). This shows that these big companies are mass producing cheap and hazardous chemicals and produce only to make a profit in their business. Consumers should be aware of what is going on around them and educate them so that businesses like Monsanto do not try to sell them cheap products that are harmful to the human body and can have many consequences consuming those products. Smaller businesses are affected by big companies because now they have to compete with a cheaper and fast producing product. Many small businesses that do not use GMOs have difficult times growing crops because they do not use pesticides or herbicides. Many products get eaten or die due to animals and other plants destroying the crops. The main controversy is that the heavy use of pesticides and herbicides create bugs and weeds that become resistant to these herbicides. These resistant bugs and plants force big companies to produce stronger chemicals which will become a long term battle. In the meantime, citizens are suffering from the consequences of big companies. Health risks become more prevalent and become more lethal. The European version of the FDA reported that “the approval process for GM crops failed to identify apoisonous gene discovered in 54 of 86 GM plants” (Lynch & Vogel 2011). They found that a company failed to realize that the majority of these plants had a poisonous gene. More importantly the gene that was found was a viral gene called gene VI. This gene is also found in animal feed. Looking at the research, companies are using genes that are found in things that humans should not be consuming. This is how big companies can make large profits; by modifying foods with genes and making the process as cheap as possible. Doing this causes the companies to cut corners for the sake of profits but this shows that poisonous genes and other bacteria and viruses can get into products and make the consumers suffer for the company’s actions.

Methods

To answer the research question, 20 people were to be asked in person if they knew what GMOs were and if they thought that it was safe to use. They survey would take place outside of a Shop Rite. The subjects that would be targeted are middle aged adults between the ages of 40 and 52. Data would be collected by just asking the subjects if they knew anything about GMOs. The following question was to ask their opinion if they believed if it was safe to use as a food source. After each response from a subject, a tally would be designed to see how many people were for GMOs and how many were against GMOs. When the design of the survey was finalized, it was time to start asking people the next day.

Results

Standing outside of Shop Rite, 20 subjects were asked questions and the answers were tallied. There were 9 males and 11 females picked at random for the survey. Out of the 20 participants, 6 of the 20 people knew what GMOs were and 15 of the 20 people said that GMOs were ok to use and consume. After the survey was conducted, calculations were made to determine the percentages of the results. The percentage of people that said they knew what GMOs were was 30%. This means that 70% of the participants did not know what GMOs were. For the second question, after being asked if GMOs were safe to use 75% of the people said that GMOs were safe to use and consume. The charts below show the percentages of people who do and do not know what GMOs were and if they believed if GMOs were safe to use and consume.

Do You Know What GMOs Are?
Yes / 6
No / 14
Do You Think GMOs Are Safe?
Yes / 15
No / 5

Discussion

Observing how the company’s mass produce shows that the environment and the people suffer from the decisions of big businesses. Some of the consequences of producing GMOs are decrease in nutritional value, increase in allergies, increase in toxicity, and bacteria with increased resistance to antibiotics. The decrease in nutritional value is a major concern for most consumers. Bakshi states that “Another example comes from a study showing that a strain of genetically modified soybean produced lower levels of phytoestrogen compounds, believed to protect against heart disease and cancer, than traditional soybeans” (Bakshi 2013). As explained, producing cheap non-nutritional foods can prevent consumers from eating foods that can decrease the possibility of getting heart disease and cancer which are the top reasons for death in the U.S. While mass producing food sounds like an answer for world hunger, the reality is that this mass produced produce seems to be not worth eating regarding the consequences over the benefits. The only people that benefit from GMOs are the companies producing them while people are giving them money just so they can eat. Doing research can educate people on how their food is made and where their food comes from. So the question is Do people understand what GMOs are and do they think it is safe to continue this practice?

References

Bakshi, A. (2013). Exposure To Environmental Hazards: Genetically Modified Organisms. Retrieved from

Lynch, D. & Vogel, D. (2011). The Regulation of GMOs in Europe and the United States: A Case-Study of Contemporary European Regularity Politics. Retrieved from

JustLabelIt. (2015). Environmental Impact of GMOs. Retrieved from

Phillips, T. (2010). Genetically modified organisms (GMOs): Transgenic crops and recombinant DNA technology. Retrieved from

Smith, J. (2010). Institute for Responsible Technology. Retrieved from