America is moving fast towards a new era of an electrical day and age. Everyday we find ourselves face to face with new forms of technology that many of us have only read about it science fiction novels. Several people have begun to believe that too much technology is bad for civilization, and several other people believe that technology is necessary for civilians to move ahead, to achieve greater. However, the term biotechnology has caused a great uproar, both from excitement and from disgust. Our society has taken technology to a whole new level, and we have started engineering living objects to our advantage. Genetically Modified Organisms, GMOs for short, is a new form of biotechnology that many civilians of America do not know exists until they are told by someone who knows about it. Researchers and critics use fallacies and logos/ethos/pathos to defend or attack the controversial issue involving Genetically Modified Organism.
In order for an organism to be considered a GMO, it must have had genetic alteration done. Genetic alteration is when scientist clip a gene from the DNA of one organism and splice it into the DNA of another (Erdosh). Producers are not required by law to label whether or not their products have GMO ingredients in them. Many citizens of America have voiced their opinions on GMOs and whether they should be labeled or not. In a recent poll, done by U.S. News and World Report, around 90 percent of the public would like to know whether or not their foods are genetically modified. Critics and researchers rage on the pros and cons of GMOs in general, and even though most researchers are for the use of GMOs, most of them want to join the 64 countries throughout the world that want labeling to be required (Mie...
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Food is an essential part of everyday life without it one could not survive. Every day we make choices on what we put in to our bodies. There are countless varieties of food to choose from to meet the diverse tastes of the increasing population. Almost all food requires a label explaining the ingredients and the nutritional value allowing consumers to make informed decisions on what they are consuming. However, many may not be considering where that food is coming from or how it has been produced. Unfortunately, there is more to food than meets the eye. Since 1992, “ the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled, based on woefully limited data, that genetically modified foods were ‘substantially equivalent’ to their non-GM counterparts” (Why to Support Labeling). GM food advocates have promised to create more nutritious food that will be able to grow in harsh climate conditions and eventually put an end to world hunger in anticipation of the growing population. There is very little evidence to support these claims and study after study has proven just the opposite. GM crops are not only unsafe to consume, but their growing practices are harmful to the environment, and multinational corporations are putting farmers out of business.
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Until the government creates mandates for issuing labels on foods that contain genetically modified ingredients, there are measures that can be taken by common citizens and supporters of GMO labeling in order to keep Americans safe in the meantime. Since “study after study points to potential health risks” (“Whole Foods Market”), supporters need to raise awareness amongst the rest of society in order to generate a large group that can begin to press the government to create a law to handle the issue. It is in “the state’s interest [to] protect consumers from false or potentially misleading communication or prevent consumers from suffering unwitting harms” (Adler). Moreover, the government must be the one to put an official end to the lack of
GMOs has been around for nearly 50 years. It is something that has emerged itself within our lifestyles and become something that appear in our daily lives, whether it’s on the shelf in grocery shops or on your plate right know; GMOs can be found almost anywhere. However, although the production of GMOs have certainly increased over the years, opinions on it has differed. Some people have come to believe it is dangerous for our health, while other people has stated the exact opposite. Something that
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Alessandra Potenza informed the reader on the argument of GMOs in, “The Battle Over GMOs.” Scientist have proven it to be completely safe for humans to consume GMOs in their food. GMOs are a genetically modified organism, or the result of a cross breed of plants. Also the GMO business has taken advantage of the people, because they are not labeling if the food is genetically modified. GMO’s should be labeled because it is always good to know what you are consuming; and some people prefer not to consume GMO’s.
As heated debates continue about the labeling of Genetically Modified Organisms, little does the general US population know that they eat GMOs every day. Over thirty thousand different products on grocery store shelves are GMOs, including daily products such as milk, corn, and soy (Chien). While the illustration of a butterfly sitting on a blade of grass shaped like a check mark could subconsciously reassure people that a genetically modified food product is "safe," such labeling is not needed as GMOs are not only healthy to eat and economically advantageous, rather they may be a sustainable solution to world hunger.
Biotechnology used in agriculture is a widely debated practice, and its uses and applications are not fully accepted throughout the globe. Countries are developing their own regulations for the production, cultivation, and importation of genetically modified (GM) crops due to the inability of all countries to agree upon and adopt international laws regarding GMOs (Martinelli, Karbarz, & Siipi, 2013). Governments are feeling the pressure to satisfy its citizens’ demands for the documentation, management, and safety of GM foods, and at the same time promote the selling and usage of authorized GM foods for economic purposes (Hellier et al., 2012). To address their need for security regarding GMOs, consumers are requesting that mandatory labeling practices be implemented.
Recently, MIT Technology Review’s editor published an article about the future of GMO. To provide some context, GMOs are genetically modified organisms that are artificially altered using a process known as recombinant DNA technology. GMOs have faced a lot of controversy, mainly regarding the health implications of GMOs. Currently, plant scientists and startups have avoided creating new genetically modified crops, due to the large costs and long approval times for new crop modifications. As a result, large agricultural and chemical producers, such as Monsanto control basically the entire GMO market and turn it into a very lucrative business. The outcome of this situation is a scary amount of dependency on a handful of profit-oriented companies that genetically modify seeds to maximize profits, rather than to improve the well-being of the consumer.
With all of the controversy surrounding GMO foods: health versus biodiversity; benefits versus dangers; pros versus cons, a topic that always arises is the subject of labeling. Labeling has been a matter of discussion for years and
GMO labeling is important because there is uncertainty in the safety of GMOs, which indicates a need for long term monitoring, therefore labels are needed to facilitate monitoring by the scientific community and diagnosis by healthcare professionals. The point being made here is that, while the technology of GMO appears to be safe and has been in use commercially for nearly 20 years, it is nonetheless prudent to watch for problems (Dahl). In their scholarly article titled “’Does Contain’ vs. ‘Does Not Contain’; Does it Matter which GMO Label is Used?”, John Crespi and Stephan Marette quote statistics showing that “…21% of Americans feel that GM foods pose ‘serious safety risks’…”, and that the percentages for European nations range from 30%
In a world where healthy eating is always a fad, GMO Labeling is a hot topic. There are several misconceptions about GMOs. Products containing GMO's should be appropriately labeled because inappropriate marketing strategies could defer possible consumers, appropriate labels could help advocate understanding that GMO is not a negative additive and consumers have the right to know what is in their food. A GMO is defined as “an organism whose genome has been altered by the techniques of genetic engineering so that it’s DNA contains one or more genes not normally found there.” Research involving human consumption in GMOs has been in place since 1980, the FDA approved funding for GMOs in 1982. Even though they were approved in 1882, products containing GMOs did not hit grocery stores until late 1994.
How many of you hear the words “genetically modified food” and immediately think “BAD”? How many of you scorn the idea that genetically modified foods are useful? How many of you have been manipulated by the media to think that all biotechnology is evil? Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have been genetically spliced to achieve a certain trait. As the demand for a larger food supply is increasing due to population growth, the benefits that GMO foods provide are being hailed as the only solution to the food crisis. However, many people are making inadequately informed decisions, and are pushing them to the back shelf. I will inform you on why genetically modified organisms may be the only way to a stable, safe future for the less fortunate.
As human technological innovation proceeds into the twenty-first century, society is faced with many complex issues. Genetic engineering and cloning, encryption and information security, and advanced weapons technologies are all prominent examples of technological issues that have substantial moral and ethical implications. Genetic engineering in particular is currently a very volatile subject. One important aspect of this field is GMO or Genetically Modified Organisms, which has far-reaching potential to revolutionize modern agriculture. GMO crops are already being developed by many leading biotech companies, and have come under intense scrutiny by society. This is easily understood, however, because there is not much that is more important than how people get fed. Specifically, where their food comes from, and how it is produced. Thus, it is essential that we examine the ethical dilemmas as well as the practical benefits posed by such a powerful technology.