Harvest Of Fear Analysis

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Recommended: Pros and cons of genetic engineering

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been a topic of serious discussion that has caused a lot of debate throughout the years, propelled predominantly by a lack of knowledge and massive amounts of misinformation. In the documentary “Harvest of Fear”, Frontline and NOVA explore this debate by interviewing scientists, farmers, biotechnology representatives and critics, food industry representatives, and U.S. regulators. Questions asked in the documentary were: is genetically modified food safe to eat? Just how radical is this new technology? What are the benefits? What are the risks? Are GM foods sufficiently regulated in the U.S.? After watching this film, I believe that the benefits of GMOs outweigh subsequent consequences. Although …show more content…

Keeping in mind that GMOs were a relatively new concept, it seemed normal that many people didn’t realize that GMOs were in a wide variety of things that they consumed everyday. When people found out that they were consuming GMOs, they had a very negative reaction. Many people wanted to know what the future implications of this would be. What I didn’t like was the lack of information provided to the public about GMOs, and the propaganda being spread by people against them. With a lack of information and fear of the unknown, it is understandable why people would be hesitant about GMOs. The focus group came to the consensus that if GM foods were labeled, it would help reduce …show more content…

This study found that rats fed with Monsanto’s glyphosphate-resistant corn grew more tumors and died sooner than the control rats. However, Sprague-Dawley rats were used, which are rats susceptible to developing spontaneous tumors, and only 10 rats were used per group, for a time period of two years. The study was described as a “statistical fishing trip”, meaning that if one were to test variables long enough, they will eventually the result they are looking for; ultimately the results were probably due to chance. These problems lead to the retraction of this article from the journal it was published in. This is just one example of how falsified information can make it’s way to the

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