Is eating GMO Monsanto food safe?
Crystal McCann
English 1010
Fernley
Final Position Synthesis
05/4/14
Is eating GMO Monsanto food safe?
I’ve always wondered what the differences between organic foods and regularly grown foods were and I started hearing more and more about GMOs and GMO-free foods. As a pescatarian, I’ve always prided myself on eating a pretty healthy diet. Pescatarian, meaning I’m basically a vegetarian who also eats fish. As a student, sometimes it’s hard to afford organically grown foods, so I started to wonder: what is the difference between organic foods and regularly grown produce? Is eating genetically modified food really bad for you? And why did we ever start cloning our freshly grown foods, with a substitute tomato mixed with so many chemicals, and animal’s genes etc.? As I researched, I learned more about the topic. However, the first question I had was: what does GMO even mean?
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are organisms in which the gene of one organism is transferred from one organism to another. Monsanto is the world’s largest seed and bio-tech company; they produce Round-Up weed killer and manufactured Agent Orange (used in the Vietnam war) which caused severe physical deformities. They are also the #1 GMO producing company in the world. The FDA and Monsanto are linked by many people who worked for one another, including Monsanto’s former lawyer, Michael Taylor, who now works for the FDA.
Monsanto has purchased 98% of all seeds in the United States and many other places around the globe. These seeds have now been patented; meaning no one else can use them. Common foods that have been genetically modified are soy, corn, sugar beet, alfalfa, zucchini, crookneck squash, canola and cotton seed. These things are in nearly everything, including high fructose corn syrup, sodas, juice, French fries, chips, and 80% of all packaged food and fast foods. Furthermore, Monsanto has taken the DNA from something living, like a flounder, which produces a natural anti-freeze agent to sustain its internal temperature during inclement weather, and has injected this agent into tomatoes to prevent them from freezing during the cold. As well spider genes into goats, to get spider web-like protein to create a more sustainable bullet-proof vest, andcow genes into pigs, so that pigs have cow hides. A salmon, now labeled “Franken-fish”, is two-times are large are the regular salmon.
No testing has been done regarding the safety of this genetically engineered fish and the FDA has been trying to release it into the oceans to breed with organically grown salmon. Milk and meat are also affected, due to cattle being fed GMO. Wheat and corn is going into their blood stream and when we eat the meat or drink its milk, all of that gunk goes into us and our blood stream, which I learned could eventually change our genetic code. This could happen in subtle ways like stomach issues, liver damage, growths, tumors, etc. A study of lab rats revealed things such as those listed above as well as infertility and dysfunctional testicles due to high amounts of toxicity in the genetically modified corn manufactured by Monsanto.
As I researched further, I learned about the use of unidentified “research chemicals”, blood proteins, antibodies and vaccines in the crop production, as well as the ripening of vegetables with ethanol gas. The effects of consuming these chemicals so far have been that after several studies on rats as well as farm animals who have eaten these crops have proven side effects such as infertility, accelerated aging, immune problems, compilations with cholesterol, insulin problems, changes in kidneys, spleen, and gastro-intestinal system, and smaller brains, livers and testicles. To name a few.
Moreover, I did a lot of research on whether or not there has been any proven effects of GMO consumption transferred to humans and have found that, in Africa, a group of people who ate only GMO corn for a period of time had symptoms like upper respiratory problems, headaches, and flu-like symptoms. Many reports in the US that could be linked to GMO consumption were things like digestive disorders, inflammatory of the stomach, increased allergies, heart disease, thyroid disease, celiac disease, cancer and autism.
After a tremendous amount of research on the subject, I found that the information collected on GMOs and the scientific evidence of the effects of consuming them have caused on lab rats, mice as well as the amount of corn, tomatoes and other vegetables that have been grown with significant deficiencies. I must conclude that Crossing genes from one animal or plant to another does seem extremely dangerous, especially since the FDA and the largest Bio-Tech company are affiliated with one another. It really makes it difficult to believe when the FDA says a genetically modified Franken-Salmon who has not been evaluated long enough is safe for consumption. One would think the FDA would be a little concerned about the after-effects of these types of foods before putting them on the shelves for human consumption.
I researched the mission statements from both Monsanto and the FDA and this is (in short) what I found; Monsanto- “.This program is designed to develop new collaborative research projects with researchers who have expertise and interests in areas that will enhance our fundamental understanding of corn rootworm that could lead to economical, practical, and sustainable solutions for farmers.”
The FDAs mission statement in short is as follows; “FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation”
When I learned that Monsanto, the largest seed trans-gene and bio-tech company was also responsible for producing Agent Orange I couldn’t believe that our country would be all right with allowing a company who created something so detrimental to innocent Vietnamese families , especially the defects in children. Seeing this and then comparing the effects caused by Round-up, which is an insect repellant also produced by Monsanto. After close review of what types of effects Agent orange, Round-up and Monsanto seeds I could see a lot of similarities in defective children, lab rats and mice as well as defective corn crops, tomatoes and other vegetables. This is where it got pretty interesting and scary, because after learning the affiliation between the FDA and Monsanto, which concluded they are a sort of trifecta involved very heavily with one another.
For example, Monsanto will produce a product, such as a Tomato produced with an anti-freeze gene found in a Flounder in order to prevent the tomato from freezing in the winter. The FDA will then review this product and determine whether or not the product is safe for human consumption. However, when the guy who is creating the product based on the concept of producing mass product in order to make a profit and the guy who is approving it is his lawyer, or the ex CEO of Monsanto, who is going to say no?
It seem like there are a lot of facts that are being kept in the dark. The one thing I really struggle with in regards to GMO foods is the labeling aspect of it. Every country in the world mandates labeling, except Canada and the United States. I wonder why this is? If there is absolutely no issue with GMOs, why not let consumers know your food is genetically modified? I think about certified Organic foods and how organic farmers are proud of their crops and you don’t have to guess or wonder if the food you’re buying is organic. There is a section labeled Organic produce.
A few Monsanto companies you may not know you were supporting or existed; Banquet, V8, Morningstar, Coke-a-Cola, Pillsbury, Power bar brand, Minute-Made, Post Cereals, Mrs Buttersworth, Lean Cuisine, Frito lay and lean cuisine to name a few.
In conclusion, the long term-effects of GMO foods are still unknown to some degree. However, GMO foods have only been available for the past 30 years. Now-a-days though GMOs are in everything we eat as opposed to very few things. I can’t say that GMO foods are awful for human consumption, however scientists have proven how GMO consumption and its creator Monsanto has affected, lab rats, mice, livers, their genetic code, testicular, brain size life span, tumors found as well as how our vegetables have physically been affected. I feel like the proof is in front of our faces. It is up to everyone to decide if they want to take the risk of consuming foods that could possibly produce smaller brains in our young, cause smaller testies, liver damage and digestive issues as well as tumors or to avoid that by eating non-GMO foods. The choice is up to each and every one of us.
Cited and Scholarly Information:
http://FDA.gov
http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/ten-things-monsanto.pdf
http://www.beginningfarmers.org/article-visualizing-consolidation-in-the-global-seed-industry-1996-2008-by-phil-howard/
http://www.anunews.net
http://www.henrymakow.com/who-titanium-dioxide-in-our.html
http://Americanacademy.gov
http://www.realfarmacy.com/printable-list-of-monsanto-owned-food-producers/
http://Sustainable.org
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/
*Reflection paper below on separate page.
English 1010
Fernley
Final Position Synthesis
05/4/14
Is eating GMO Monsanto food safe?
I’ve always wondered what the differences between organic foods and regularly grown foods were and I started hearing more and more about GMOs and GMO-free foods. As a pescatarian, I’ve always prided myself on eating a pretty healthy diet. Pescatarian, meaning I’m basically a vegetarian who also eats fish. As a student, sometimes it’s hard to afford organically grown foods, so I started to wonder: what is the difference between organic foods and regularly grown produce? Is eating genetically modified food really bad for you? And why did we ever start cloning our freshly grown foods, with a substitute tomato mixed with so many chemicals, and animal’s genes etc.? As I researched, I learned more about the topic. However, the first question I had was: what does GMO even mean?
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are organisms in which the gene of one organism is transferred from one organism to another. Monsanto is the world’s largest seed and bio-tech company; they produce Round-Up weed killer and manufactured Agent Orange (used in the Vietnam war) which caused severe physical deformities. They are also the #1 GMO producing company in the world. The FDA and Monsanto are linked by many people who worked for one another, including Monsanto’s former lawyer, Michael Taylor, who now works for the FDA.
Monsanto has purchased 98% of all seeds in the United States and many other places around the globe. These seeds have now been patented; meaning no one else can use them. Common foods that have been genetically modified are soy, corn, sugar beet, alfalfa, zucchini, crookneck squash, canola and cotton seed. These things are in nearly everything, including high fructose corn syrup, sodas, juice, French fries, chips, and 80% of all packaged food and fast foods. Furthermore, Monsanto has taken the DNA from something living, like a flounder, which produces a natural anti-freeze agent to sustain its internal temperature during inclement weather, and has injected this agent into tomatoes to prevent them from freezing during the cold. As well spider genes into goats, to get spider web-like protein to create a more sustainable bullet-proof vest, andcow genes into pigs, so that pigs have cow hides. A salmon, now labeled “Franken-fish”, is two-times are large are the regular salmon.
No testing has been done regarding the safety of this genetically engineered fish and the FDA has been trying to release it into the oceans to breed with organically grown salmon. Milk and meat are also affected, due to cattle being fed GMO. Wheat and corn is going into their blood stream and when we eat the meat or drink its milk, all of that gunk goes into us and our blood stream, which I learned could eventually change our genetic code. This could happen in subtle ways like stomach issues, liver damage, growths, tumors, etc. A study of lab rats revealed things such as those listed above as well as infertility and dysfunctional testicles due to high amounts of toxicity in the genetically modified corn manufactured by Monsanto.
As I researched further, I learned about the use of unidentified “research chemicals”, blood proteins, antibodies and vaccines in the crop production, as well as the ripening of vegetables with ethanol gas. The effects of consuming these chemicals so far have been that after several studies on rats as well as farm animals who have eaten these crops have proven side effects such as infertility, accelerated aging, immune problems, compilations with cholesterol, insulin problems, changes in kidneys, spleen, and gastro-intestinal system, and smaller brains, livers and testicles. To name a few.
Moreover, I did a lot of research on whether or not there has been any proven effects of GMO consumption transferred to humans and have found that, in Africa, a group of people who ate only GMO corn for a period of time had symptoms like upper respiratory problems, headaches, and flu-like symptoms. Many reports in the US that could be linked to GMO consumption were things like digestive disorders, inflammatory of the stomach, increased allergies, heart disease, thyroid disease, celiac disease, cancer and autism.
After a tremendous amount of research on the subject, I found that the information collected on GMOs and the scientific evidence of the effects of consuming them have caused on lab rats, mice as well as the amount of corn, tomatoes and other vegetables that have been grown with significant deficiencies. I must conclude that Crossing genes from one animal or plant to another does seem extremely dangerous, especially since the FDA and the largest Bio-Tech company are affiliated with one another. It really makes it difficult to believe when the FDA says a genetically modified Franken-Salmon who has not been evaluated long enough is safe for consumption. One would think the FDA would be a little concerned about the after-effects of these types of foods before putting them on the shelves for human consumption.
I researched the mission statements from both Monsanto and the FDA and this is (in short) what I found; Monsanto- “.This program is designed to develop new collaborative research projects with researchers who have expertise and interests in areas that will enhance our fundamental understanding of corn rootworm that could lead to economical, practical, and sustainable solutions for farmers.”
The FDAs mission statement in short is as follows; “FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation”
When I learned that Monsanto, the largest seed trans-gene and bio-tech company was also responsible for producing Agent Orange I couldn’t believe that our country would be all right with allowing a company who created something so detrimental to innocent Vietnamese families , especially the defects in children. Seeing this and then comparing the effects caused by Round-up, which is an insect repellant also produced by Monsanto. After close review of what types of effects Agent orange, Round-up and Monsanto seeds I could see a lot of similarities in defective children, lab rats and mice as well as defective corn crops, tomatoes and other vegetables. This is where it got pretty interesting and scary, because after learning the affiliation between the FDA and Monsanto, which concluded they are a sort of trifecta involved very heavily with one another.
For example, Monsanto will produce a product, such as a Tomato produced with an anti-freeze gene found in a Flounder in order to prevent the tomato from freezing in the winter. The FDA will then review this product and determine whether or not the product is safe for human consumption. However, when the guy who is creating the product based on the concept of producing mass product in order to make a profit and the guy who is approving it is his lawyer, or the ex CEO of Monsanto, who is going to say no?
It seem like there are a lot of facts that are being kept in the dark. The one thing I really struggle with in regards to GMO foods is the labeling aspect of it. Every country in the world mandates labeling, except Canada and the United States. I wonder why this is? If there is absolutely no issue with GMOs, why not let consumers know your food is genetically modified? I think about certified Organic foods and how organic farmers are proud of their crops and you don’t have to guess or wonder if the food you’re buying is organic. There is a section labeled Organic produce.
A few Monsanto companies you may not know you were supporting or existed; Banquet, V8, Morningstar, Coke-a-Cola, Pillsbury, Power bar brand, Minute-Made, Post Cereals, Mrs Buttersworth, Lean Cuisine, Frito lay and lean cuisine to name a few.
In conclusion, the long term-effects of GMO foods are still unknown to some degree. However, GMO foods have only been available for the past 30 years. Now-a-days though GMOs are in everything we eat as opposed to very few things. I can’t say that GMO foods are awful for human consumption, however scientists have proven how GMO consumption and its creator Monsanto has affected, lab rats, mice, livers, their genetic code, testicular, brain size life span, tumors found as well as how our vegetables have physically been affected. I feel like the proof is in front of our faces. It is up to everyone to decide if they want to take the risk of consuming foods that could possibly produce smaller brains in our young, cause smaller testies, liver damage and digestive issues as well as tumors or to avoid that by eating non-GMO foods. The choice is up to each and every one of us.
Cited and Scholarly Information:
http://FDA.gov
http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/ten-things-monsanto.pdf
http://www.beginningfarmers.org/article-visualizing-consolidation-in-the-global-seed-industry-1996-2008-by-phil-howard/
http://www.anunews.net
http://www.henrymakow.com/who-titanium-dioxide-in-our.html
http://Americanacademy.gov
http://www.realfarmacy.com/printable-list-of-monsanto-owned-food-producers/
http://Sustainable.org
http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/
*Reflection paper below on separate page.
Based on the above description of the goals of our course write your reflection by answering:
1. How does this final work represent the critical thinking and writing processes you have engaged with in English 1010? Discuss places that a reader could see evidence of this in the two writing assignments. The assignments provided me with the ability to increase the knowledge of what I have read as well as being able to restate it in my papers both in quotations, and to decipher the they say, I say method. Overall this has sharpened my rhetorical knowledge.
2. What have you learned that you can transition (take with you) to other writing situations? . Reading through my final papers, you will notice a strong improvement from my papers in the beginning of the semester. From beginning to end. They flow much better, the information is well gathered and well thought out as well as well structured.
1. How does this final work represent the critical thinking and writing processes you have engaged with in English 1010? Discuss places that a reader could see evidence of this in the two writing assignments. The assignments provided me with the ability to increase the knowledge of what I have read as well as being able to restate it in my papers both in quotations, and to decipher the they say, I say method. Overall this has sharpened my rhetorical knowledge.
2. What have you learned that you can transition (take with you) to other writing situations? . Reading through my final papers, you will notice a strong improvement from my papers in the beginning of the semester. From beginning to end. They flow much better, the information is well gathered and well thought out as well as well structured.