News Review
The news article I chose to review discusses whether or not products should have to be labeled to announce they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). I found this news article online and it was published in the Texas Tribune on March 22, 2014. The full article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/us/the-push-to-label-genetically-modified-products.html?ref=geneticallymodifiedfood.
The main objective of this article was to persuade the government to pass a law that makes companies label all products that were made from a GMO with some form of identification. The story said that this began when a farmer from Texas learned that seeds were injected with genes from pesticides and herbicides to make them resistant to chemicals like Roundup.
From the perspective of my field, which is a crop research scientist for a worldwide corporation, I believe that this article is misinformed. Roundup Ready seeds are not injected with genes from the chemical. According to passel.unl.edu, the plant is inserted with a unique strain of agrobacteria, which is a pathogen that blocks Roundup from binding to amino acids. By not binding to amino acids plants are able to continue to perform amino acid synthesis, and therefore sustain nutrients to complete their growth cycle.
This story interviews the Food and Drug Administration. They believe that labeling products is a good idea for companies but will not enforce it because GMOs are safe and have no negative side effects. In their opinion, people should know where and how the food they consume is grown, but will not demand it because all safety standards are met.
People were misinformed on the safety of GMOs, and because of this, the market for non-gmo grown products has skyrocketed in the past few years. General Mills recently switched to organically grown grains because of this new business venture. People who eat genetically modified grain cereals will continue to eat their favorite brand of cereal if it is made with non-gmos, however business will be lost if genetically modified grains are continued in cereal production.
There are many benefits to GM crops. One of these benefits is that less herbicides can be used to kill weeds in a field. This results in less herbicide runoff, which pollutes our water and can damage ecosystems where herbicides were not meant to be used. This allows farmers to preserve the topsoil, which holds organic matter, micronutrients, and macronutrients. These three factors are key in the production of crops to sustain the worldwide food supply.
http://www.chemistryviews.org
Another example of a GM crop is BT corn. BT stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, which is a toxic bacteria to larval pests. According to http://www.rff.org, BT crops produce jobs for many people in third world countries. Income is increased by 82% in small farms because of higher yields and reduced pesticide use. In India, one study suggested that BT cotton alone led to a 2 billion dollar payout to people in the agriculture industry.
Advances in agriculture, like GM crops, have allowed for the world to benefit overall. There is increased crop yield, which helps satisfy the need for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. It also protects nature by reducing the amount of pesticides and fertilizer needed. GM crops have proven to be safe by meeting and exceeding standards put in place by the Food and Drug Administration and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
People were misinformed on the safety of GMOs, and because of this, the market for non-gmo grown products has skyrocketed in the past few years. General Mills recently switched to organically grown grains because of this new business venture. People who eat genetically modified grain cereals will continue to eat their favorite brand of cereal if it is made with non-gmos, however business will be lost if genetically modified grains are continued in cereal production.
There are many benefits to GM crops. One of these benefits is that less herbicides can be used to kill weeds in a field. This results in less herbicide runoff, which pollutes our water and can damage ecosystems where herbicides were not meant to be used. This allows farmers to preserve the topsoil, which holds organic matter, micronutrients, and macronutrients. These three factors are key in the production of crops to sustain the worldwide food supply.
http://www.chemistryviews.org
Another example of a GM crop is BT corn. BT stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, which is a toxic bacteria to larval pests. According to http://www.rff.org, BT crops produce jobs for many people in third world countries. Income is increased by 82% in small farms because of higher yields and reduced pesticide use. In India, one study suggested that BT cotton alone led to a 2 billion dollar payout to people in the agriculture industry.
Advances in agriculture, like GM crops, have allowed for the world to benefit overall. There is increased crop yield, which helps satisfy the need for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. It also protects nature by reducing the amount of pesticides and fertilizer needed. GM crops have proven to be safe by meeting and exceeding standards put in place by the Food and Drug Administration and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Hey Tracy,
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a really interesting topic. I heard a speech on GMO's a few years ago, and it is interesting to learn a bit more about them. I would recommend adding a background to your blog to give it more color. Overall good job though!
GM food is a popular subject lol, this is like the third blog that has a GM food post but it is something everyone should know about in my opinion. I like the visual aids you posted since that was the first thing I read and they seemed to introduce me to this subject. This post was very informative and I like how you stated that FDA isn't enforcing the GMO labels because it meets saftey standards. I hope in the future that they don't find out that GMOs are the reason for many rising illnesses. But by the stuff you said about pesticides, I think that food safety can never truly be "healthy". Good post.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article and I like that you cleared up some of the myths/rumors of GMOs. You had some information about the public wanting GMO free products, while there is need for GMOs to help mass produce crops. I wish there was more of your opinion on how you think the future will look for GMOs and the food industry as a whole. Great post.
ReplyDelete