GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS AND THEIR HEALTH HAzards
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has let the public down by failing to do one of its most important jobs, informing consumers of what they are really putting in their bodies. In 1998, in a lawsuit filed by the Center for Food Safety, the FDA admitted to allowing food to be produced and sold with it having, “no dispositive scientific finding“ (Center for Food Safety, 2013b). Not only does the FDA not make it mandatory for genetically modified food to be tested for safety in humans, but the association also does not make it mandatory to have these foods labeled. Therefore, consumers have no idea if they are buying food that has foreign genes in them and this could cause serious health risks to various individuals.
Genetically modified foods have foreign genes, such as viral promoters and antibiotic marker systems injected into them, which could cause serious harm to whoever consumes those products. Toxicity, for example, is one of the six major “unexpected effects” and health risks from the consumption of GE foods (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). Every time food is inserted with a foreign gene, there is no definite knowledge of where that gene has been placed or whether it is even safe to place a gene in a certain area. Therefore, it is not known if that inserted gene changes something in the food to convert it from being a nontoxic product to toxic. For this reason alone, genetically modified foods are dangerously unstable.
Along with toxicity, the insertion of the antibiotic resistance markers into food allow producers to track whether genetic material was successfully transferred into a particular food (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). These markers remain in the food and is mass-produced and marketed to the public. Then as the public, for example a child, consume these products, they also consume the antibiotic resistance markers. The more antibiotic resistance markers that are consumed, the greater chance that antibiotics for a particular disease will become ineffective. If anything, the fact that the consumption of GE foods would cause the prevalence of diseases should be enough for the FDA to ban or, at the very least, label foods that have been tampered with. Britain, along with other European countries, has already taken action against GE foods, particularly a maize plant that was engineered with ampicillin-resistance genes (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). Ampicillin is a very important antibiotic that treats a variety of infections in people and animals. The possibility of the maize plant from being ineffective in fighting a large range of bacterial infections was enough for Britain to prohibit that particular corn from being produced. The FDA and our own government should take note that if another country has decided to take action against genetically modified food for fear of its dangers to public health, then we should adopt the same policy.
The transfer of different genes into foods also poses a serious risk to those with food allergies. Genetic engineering allows for the advantageous genes of a certain food, such as nutritional value, to be inserted into other foods so they obtain those characteristics (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). A major problem with this procedure is that allergens from certain foods that a majority of people are allergic to, such as nuts, are transferred to “safe” foods that they can eat, like fruits and vegetables. The harm of this is that those allergens in the fruits and vegetables from the nuts can cause people to have an allergic reaction. A study published by the New England Journal of Medicine in 1996, revealed evidence that genetic engineering can indeed transfer allergens between foods (Nordlee, Taylor, Townsend, Thomas,. Bush, 1996). The study used the Brazil nut, which is prized for its health benefits, to transfer its genes to soybeans in order to increase its nutritional value. The genetically modified soybeans were fed to three subjects who were allergic to Brazil nuts and all three subjects tested positive for an allergic reaction. Other studies also backed up this evidence, showing that allergens can be transferred between foods. The danger of transferring allergens combined with the fact that genetically modified foods are not required to be labeled provide an all around dangerous situation where consumers who are allergic to certain foods, could be eating foods they think are safe but in reality contain genes from those “danger foods” resulting in an allergic reaction. Genetically engineered foods also have the possibility of creating new allergic response that have not been discovered yet and therefore no known treatments for them have been created (Nordlee et al., 1996). Human diets have never consisted of these foods with varying genes until now, which is dangerous to any child, teen, adult, or senior citizen if they suffer a severe allergic reaction.
Immuno-suppression, the suppression of the immune system of a species, is another danger to the health of consumers of GE foods. The Lancet published a study that showed genetically modified potatoes had serious effects on the organs of rats (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). The Lancet, a highly respected British medical journal, published a study supporting the hypothesis that GE foods cause detrimental harm to organ development, body metabolism, and immune function. In the experiment performed by Dr. Arpad Pusztai and Dr. Stanley W.B. Ewen, rats were fed genetically modified potatoes that contained the biopesticide, Bacillus Thuringiensis (B.t.). The results of the experiments showed severe liver atrophies in the rats along with other organ damage. After this study was published, the FDA still did not take into consideration the harmful effects of GE foods on the human body and have not taken further action to test these findings.
In 1993, The FDA cleared the use of Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), a hormone that helps cows to produce more milk (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). However, recent research has shown that the cows treated with rBGH have higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which is linked to the growth of various cancers such as breast, prostate, and colon cancer. Despite this find, why hasn’t the FDA made it mandatory for more testing of rBGH and other genetically modified hormones and products?
Genetically modified foods are mass-produced throughout the nation and the world, wreaking havoc within human bodies without consumers knowing. Since most genetically modified foods are found in pre-processed foods, millions of consumers are eating food containing foreign genes. Since it is not required for GE foods to be labeled, there is no way to tell if you are consuming a GE product, which can cause serious health hazards.
Genetically modified foods have foreign genes, such as viral promoters and antibiotic marker systems injected into them, which could cause serious harm to whoever consumes those products. Toxicity, for example, is one of the six major “unexpected effects” and health risks from the consumption of GE foods (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). Every time food is inserted with a foreign gene, there is no definite knowledge of where that gene has been placed or whether it is even safe to place a gene in a certain area. Therefore, it is not known if that inserted gene changes something in the food to convert it from being a nontoxic product to toxic. For this reason alone, genetically modified foods are dangerously unstable.
Along with toxicity, the insertion of the antibiotic resistance markers into food allow producers to track whether genetic material was successfully transferred into a particular food (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). These markers remain in the food and is mass-produced and marketed to the public. Then as the public, for example a child, consume these products, they also consume the antibiotic resistance markers. The more antibiotic resistance markers that are consumed, the greater chance that antibiotics for a particular disease will become ineffective. If anything, the fact that the consumption of GE foods would cause the prevalence of diseases should be enough for the FDA to ban or, at the very least, label foods that have been tampered with. Britain, along with other European countries, has already taken action against GE foods, particularly a maize plant that was engineered with ampicillin-resistance genes (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). Ampicillin is a very important antibiotic that treats a variety of infections in people and animals. The possibility of the maize plant from being ineffective in fighting a large range of bacterial infections was enough for Britain to prohibit that particular corn from being produced. The FDA and our own government should take note that if another country has decided to take action against genetically modified food for fear of its dangers to public health, then we should adopt the same policy.
The transfer of different genes into foods also poses a serious risk to those with food allergies. Genetic engineering allows for the advantageous genes of a certain food, such as nutritional value, to be inserted into other foods so they obtain those characteristics (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). A major problem with this procedure is that allergens from certain foods that a majority of people are allergic to, such as nuts, are transferred to “safe” foods that they can eat, like fruits and vegetables. The harm of this is that those allergens in the fruits and vegetables from the nuts can cause people to have an allergic reaction. A study published by the New England Journal of Medicine in 1996, revealed evidence that genetic engineering can indeed transfer allergens between foods (Nordlee, Taylor, Townsend, Thomas,. Bush, 1996). The study used the Brazil nut, which is prized for its health benefits, to transfer its genes to soybeans in order to increase its nutritional value. The genetically modified soybeans were fed to three subjects who were allergic to Brazil nuts and all three subjects tested positive for an allergic reaction. Other studies also backed up this evidence, showing that allergens can be transferred between foods. The danger of transferring allergens combined with the fact that genetically modified foods are not required to be labeled provide an all around dangerous situation where consumers who are allergic to certain foods, could be eating foods they think are safe but in reality contain genes from those “danger foods” resulting in an allergic reaction. Genetically engineered foods also have the possibility of creating new allergic response that have not been discovered yet and therefore no known treatments for them have been created (Nordlee et al., 1996). Human diets have never consisted of these foods with varying genes until now, which is dangerous to any child, teen, adult, or senior citizen if they suffer a severe allergic reaction.
Immuno-suppression, the suppression of the immune system of a species, is another danger to the health of consumers of GE foods. The Lancet published a study that showed genetically modified potatoes had serious effects on the organs of rats (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). The Lancet, a highly respected British medical journal, published a study supporting the hypothesis that GE foods cause detrimental harm to organ development, body metabolism, and immune function. In the experiment performed by Dr. Arpad Pusztai and Dr. Stanley W.B. Ewen, rats were fed genetically modified potatoes that contained the biopesticide, Bacillus Thuringiensis (B.t.). The results of the experiments showed severe liver atrophies in the rats along with other organ damage. After this study was published, the FDA still did not take into consideration the harmful effects of GE foods on the human body and have not taken further action to test these findings.
In 1993, The FDA cleared the use of Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), a hormone that helps cows to produce more milk (Center for Food Safety, 2013a). However, recent research has shown that the cows treated with rBGH have higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which is linked to the growth of various cancers such as breast, prostate, and colon cancer. Despite this find, why hasn’t the FDA made it mandatory for more testing of rBGH and other genetically modified hormones and products?
Genetically modified foods are mass-produced throughout the nation and the world, wreaking havoc within human bodies without consumers knowing. Since most genetically modified foods are found in pre-processed foods, millions of consumers are eating food containing foreign genes. Since it is not required for GE foods to be labeled, there is no way to tell if you are consuming a GE product, which can cause serious health hazards.