Environmental Effects of GMOs

        Genetically engineered (GE) crops were first introduced to the market in 1996, and the adoption of GE crops has increased rapidly due to the high profits they create. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, the area of GM crops has reached 420 million acres. As more GE crops are planted, the more environmental issues they create. GE crops have only been developed for less than 20 years, however, they have already posed a serious threat to the environment.

        Roundup Ready (RR) products have increased the use of herbicide since the farmers don't have to worry about overdosing the crops with herbicide anymore. The RR crops themselves contain herbicide-resistant bacteria within them to protect the crops. As the result, "US farmers sprayed an extra 383 million pounds of herbicide on GMOs" (Smith). The overdose of herbicide leads to “superweeds", which are resistant to the herbicide. The increased use of Roundup reduces the populations of certain species.

Monarch Butterfly
Photograph by Hope Ryden

 In Midwest, the monarch butterfly population has sharply declined over the past 17 years. Milkweed, the primary food for Larvae of monarch butterflies, "has disappeared from at least 100 million acres of these row(GE) crops" (Pollack). Ecologists suspect that the adoption of GMOs caused the dramatically reduce the population of indigenous plants. Researcher John Pleasants of Iowa State said that, "The reduction (of monarch butterflies) is caused by loss of milkweed resources available to them"(Pollack). GE crops also reduce the bio-diversity by causing birth defects in insects and damaging organs of animals. The main chemical in Roundup is glysophate, which is linked to potential health threats such as cancer and sterility. The exposure of GMOs can have negative effects on ecosystem.

        GE crops can self-replicate and pass on the characteristics to the neighboring crops, penetrating the fields of farmers who want to cultivate the crops without genetic engineering. They can unintentionally decrease the populations of certain insects, animals, and plants. GE crops can no longer be controlled once they get outside of the laboratory, and they will eventually cause a damaging shift in ecology if the issue keeps being ignored.



Work Cited

Pollack, Andrew. "In Midwest, Flutters May Be Far Fewer." NYTimes.com. 11 July 2011. The New York Times. 24 June 2013 <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/science/12butterfly.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0>.

Smith, Jeffrey. "10 Reasons to Avoid GMOs." Institute for Responsible Technology. Institute for Responsible Technology. 24 June 2013 <http://www.responsibletechnology.org/10-Reasons-to-Avoid-GMOs>.

GMOs in Other Countries

        About 75 percent of conventional processed food in the U.S. contains GMOs. The majority of them are not labelled, and most Americans are unfamiliar with the issue. Much of the world requires labeling of GMOs. Others have banned the sale, import, and planting of GMOs due to lack of testing of long term effects on human and the environment.

        FDA has approved the use of GMOs regardless of scientific warnings. The reason that the US government is protective to GMOs has a lot to do the American agricultural giant, Monsanto, which produces 90 percent of GMO seeds in the market. Monsanto has threatened to sue the state of Vermont because of consideration of a bill that would make labelling GMO products a requirement earlier this year. However, the situation is different in Europe, a news report states that, "The other is the Amflora potato made by BASF, which stopped selling its GMOs for cultivation in Europe last year after widespread opposition" (Evans). GMO opposition is stronger in Europe due to people's awareness of this issue, today, GMO is not allowed in most parts of western Europe. The government would keep ignoring the issue if the people keep staying silent.

        Without further information and reassurance on GMO foods we consume, they should not be allowed to present in the market. Banning GMOs would be a long way to go, the US has not even require the labelling of GMOs yet. The laws should be protecting the people, not the agricultural giants.



Work Cited
Evans, Pete. "Monsanto to stop seeking GMO approval in Europe." CBC.ca. 03 June 2013. CBC. 23 June 2013 <http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2013/06/03/business-monsanto-europe.html>.

Opposing Viewpoints

        Some common arguments against banning GMOs are that GMO foods can end famine and that they are proven safe. None of those opposing viewpoints are true, however. Companies that benefits from selling GMO products want to trick consumer into thinking that GMOs have no adverse effects, that are completely harmless to human body and the environment, so the business can continuing making profits.
        More efficient production of food is one of the benefits of GMOs. If GM crops were created to terminate world hunger, there should have some sort of achievements in terms of reversing the spread of famine since GM crops have been existing for almost 15 years. Apparently feeding the world is never the goal of Monsanto and other proponents of biotechnology. A report conducted by the University of California, Davis claims that, "the majority corn and soybeans are used for livestock feed, it is clear that the livestock industry is the major user of genetically modified crops" (Eenennaam 1). GM products have not contributed anything to end world hunger even with their massive production.
One might wonder if GM crops are safe, since the majority of livestock today are fed on them. The companies would reassure the person that GM crops cause no health risks without a doubt. However, if GMOs are proven not harmful, why are they banned in Japan and many European countries? Why do GMO agribusiness companies prohibit independent research on long-term effects of GMOs? The truth is that, "Monsanto, Pioneer (DuPont) and Syngenta require anyone buying their GMO seeds to sign an agreement that explicitly forbids that the seeds be used for any independent research" (Engdahl). Government approved this process, that's the reason long-term health risks of GMOs still remain unknown. The government should allow scientists to do independent research on GMO instead of protecting the companies.

        There are too many lies told by corporations like Monsanto and Dupont. They use back-channel lobbying to make sure that their policy get approved. GMOs should not be allowed to be in the market until reliable researches proof they are safe.  The government should concern about people's health instead of the companies' business.



Work Cited

Eenennaam, Allison. "Genetic Engineering and Animal Feed." ANRCatalog. 2005. University of California- Agricultural and Natural Resources. 22 June 2013
<http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8183.pdf>.

Engdahl, William. "GMO Scandal: The Long Term Effects of Genetically Modified Food on Humans." Global Research. 29 July 2009. 22 June 2013 <http://www.globalresearch.ca/gmo-scandal-the-long-term-effects-of-genetically-modified-food-on-humans/14570>.

Why Should We Worry about GMOs?

I first got concerned about the food I ate after watching the documentary film, Food Inc.. The movie shows the dark underbelly of the modern food industry as well as the human lives that it is meant to sustain.  According to the USDA, 93% of soy, 93% of cotton, and 86% of corn grown in the U.S. were GMO in 2009.  It seems like everything in store contains genetically modified soy and corn.  GMO foods are pervasive in the US, yet people still do not know about the safety and long-term effects of GMO foods.

Over the past 20 years, the food we consumed has gone from whole food form to undergoing a scientific experiment.  There are two main kinds of GE crops, one of them is the herbicide tolerant crops.  Herbicide tolerant crops are those crops whose growth are not affected by herbicides used on the weeds growing around them. Glyphosate is the substance in many herbicides, including the well-known formulation, Roundup.  Crops specifically engineered to be tolerant to glyphosate are known as "Roundup Ready" (RR).  Glyphosate is popular for weed control because it kills all vegetation.  RR crops causing the increased use of glyphosate because farmers spray over the top of the crops.  Companies that produce glyphosate-herbicides claims that they causes no harm to human, however, researches have found different results.  Animals suffered from consuming RR crops.  Russian National Academy of Sciences reported that "more than half the babies from mother rats fed RR soy died within three weeks"(Smith), which was 5 times higher than the normal 10% death rate.  In addition to that, They also found that, "The babies in the GM group were also smaller and could not reproduce" (Smith).  These RR crops people consumed on daily basis can create serious health risks.  In a 2011 report produced by Greenpeace, a non-profit environmental organization founded in 1971, concludes that, "Exposure of humans to glyphosate has been linked to various health effects, including reproductive effects, cancer and neurological effects" (Riley, Cotter & Contiero 38).    Illnesses that were not epidemic before are now epidemic, people are getting sicker throughout the past 20 years.

The size of the baby rats in GM-soy group have significantly smaller body size.

Agencies such as FDA, USDA, and EPA should be responsible for food security and production.  The government should conduct careful independent research without the influences of biotech companies such as Monsanto and Dupont.  GMOs should not be sold on market until people fully understand the possible adverse effects.  

Work Cited

Riley, Pete, Janet Cotter, and Marco Conteiro. Herbicide tolerance and GM crops - Why the world should be Ready to Round Up glyphosate. Rep. June 2011. Greenpeace. 21 June 2013. <http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/publications/agriculture/2011/363%20-%20GlyphoReportDEF-LR.pdf>.

Smith, Jeffrey. "Genetically Modified Soy Linked to Sterility, Infant Mortality in Hamsters." The Huffington Post 20 Apr. 2010. 21 June 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/genetically-modified-soy_b_544575.html>.

Bad for You and the Earth

Today 60-70% of the foods in the US are genetically modified organisms (GMO's). However, are these gene-altered foods safe to human? Based on numerous researches, the answer to this question is no. The researchers have found that GMOs jeopardize food security and the environment, all of the countries in European Union have banned the production and selling of GMO foods. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) should be banned in the United States due to their negative impacts on human health and the environment.

Great percentage of corn and soybean in America contains a gene from soil bacteria called Bt, which breaks open the stomach of some insects. Bt is basically a pesticide exist with the corn people eat. Monsanto, the main producer of Bt corn, claims that Bt "would be completely destroyed in the human digestive system and not have any impact consumers" (Smith). Monsanto donates billion of dollars to the government each year to ease the regulation on GMOs. Even though the researchers of EPA found that Bt could be harmful to human body, the EPA ignored the warnings. Several researches have found the negative impacts of Bt, studies show that, "About 500 people in Washington state and Vancouver showed allergic and flu-like symptoms while they were exposed to the spray when it (Bt) was used to kill gypsy moths" (Smith). The effects could be worse when the corn consumed by people.

Many genetically engineered (GE) seeds are designed to produce pesticide in the crop itself, or increasing of spraying of herbicides. The heavy use of the weedkiller Roundup, a glyphosate herbicide, has led to the rapid increase of the new "superweeds". Research conducted by The Organic Center claims that, "Excessive reliance on glyphosate has spawned a growing epidemic of glyphosate-resistant weeds, just as overuse of antibiotics can trigger the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria" (Benbrook 10). As a result, more herbicide is needed to prevent the growth of weeds. The increase of herbicide use increased in people's exposure to toxin and environmental pollution.

Well-known food corporation such as Monsanto and Tyson Foods would argue that GMOs can ultimately end famine since it reduces the cost of producing food. However, consider the harmful effects created by GMO foods, it is necessary to stop producing them in order to keep ourselves healthy and to keep the Earth clean.




Work Cited


Smith, Jeffrey M. "GMO toxins in women and fetuses." AMASS 16.1 (2011): 12+. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 19 June 2013.
 <http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/AcademicJournalsDetailsPage/AcademicJournalsDetailsWindow?query=&prodId=OVIC&displayGroupName=Journals&limiter=&source=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&action=2&catId>

Benbrook, Charles. Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years. Rep. Nov. 2009. The Organic Center. 21 June 2013.
 <http://www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/GE13YearsReport.pdf>.

About This Blog

Hey guys! I'm Jamie and this is a blog for my English project.  

I'm a computer science major and I just finished all of my required math classes last semester (done with math forever)!! 

I will be working at IBM in Taiwan this summer for my internship, I'm very excited! 

I love food and I think that the safety of the food is as important as the taste.  

My project topic deals with genetically modified organisms (GMOs),  GMOs have adverse effects to our bodies and the environment, they should be banned in this