Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

Genetically Modified Organisms pose no significant threat to the human race

- - - - This only reaffirms the statements I previously made about the issues with GMOs for the environment. There is a bit of contradicting information, but some of the organizations that support the assertion, such as the European Commission, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, are trust able organizations. Also, under the intense inspection that all GM crops go under, as indicated by the Royal Society of Medicine, it is unlikely that an GM crops will get "out of hand" and threaten the environment.
- - - - According to the AAEM- The only human feeding study for GM foods has revealed that the gene inside of GM soy is transferred into bacteria that resides in our intestinal system which could remain long after consuming GM foods.
        
        AAEM called upon their members and others of the medical communities to conduct studies to reveal more about GMO’s.
      - According to the AAEM- Since the widespread introduction of GM products in 1996, the incidence of people with 3 or more chronic illnesses has gone from 7% to 13%.
      - Roundup (Herbicide resistant crop used by Monsanto)
        
        Declared by WHO to be “probably carcinogenic” to humans.
        
        Physiological effects, disrupts the endocrine system, and detrimental effects on human microbiome.
      - The Union of Concerned Scientists (an 1000 member organization) has expressed concerns over GM crops.
      - The prestigious medical journal the Lancet has expressed concerns as well, stating that they believe that GM foods should have never been allowed in the food chain.
      - Britain's Medical Association (100,000 physicians) and Germany’s Medical Association (325,000 physicians) have also expressed concerns over GM crops.
      - The National Academy of Science has released a report that states that GMOs release many detrimental things into our bodies and the environment.
      - Personal Opinion: There are a lot of organizations that are concerned with GMOs. I believe, however, that because of the lack of human studies until recently, much of this worry is just a result of uncertainty. Concerning the effects o Roundup, these things, while very detrimental t individuals, are not capable of wiping out the entire human race. None of the effects are contagious, and they do not result in rapid death. Concerning the increase in chronic illnesses, the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine conducted a study that is a direct contradiction to the previous conclusion. assuming it were to be true, the increase in these diseases does not have the potential to wipe out the human race.
    - - A report done by the European Commission in 2010 summarized 50 studies that concluded that "there is, as of today, no scientific evidence associating GMOs with higher risks... or for food and feed safety than conventional plants."
      - Monsanto, the biotechnology company, claims that GM seeds have been tested more than any other plant in history, to the avail of no harm for animals and humans.
      - WHO- No adverse health effects have been observed in the populace of countries where GM foods are approved.
      - The WHO states that, “it is not possible to make general statements on the safety of all GM foods.”
        
        “GM foods currently available on the international market have passed safety assessments and are not likely to present risks for human health.”
        
        · The WHO and FAO have come together in the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which has set up principles and guidelines that are composed in the Codex Alimentarius, otherwise known as the international food code. This allows for a pre-market evaluation of GM products before they reach the market. This includes an evaluation of direct and indirect effects of GM products. The international food code has three specific guidelines for GM plants, animals, and microorganisms.
        · All GM products on the international market have passed a safety assessment conducted by national authorities, which are often based on the Codex Alimentarius.
      - In response to those who believe that GM foods may cause a higher incidence rate of diseases such as cancer, obesity, and other illnesses, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine compared datasets from the United States and Canada versus the United Kingdom and Western Europe from the late 1990s. During this time period, the United States and Canada largely consumed GM foods, while the United Kingdom and Western Europe did not. No pattern differences were found between the two groups in terms of specific diseases. This was done in absence of consistent, controlled studies about the effects of GM foods on human health.
        
        “While recognizing the inherent difficulty of detecting subtle or long-term effects in health or the environment, the study committee found no substantiated evidence of a difference in risks to human health between currently commercialized genetically engineered (GE) crops and conventionally bred crops, nor did it find conclusive cause-and-effect evidence of environmental problems from the GE crops.”
      - Royal Society of Medicine- GM Crops are tightly regulated by several different organizations. In the United States, the FDA, the EPA, the USDA, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service are all involved in this process. These crops are also tested for safety before they are commercialized.
        
        “Foods derived from GM crops have been consumed by hundreds of millions of people across the world for more than 15 years, with no reported ill effects (or legal cases related to human health), despite many of the consumers coming from that most litigious of countries, the US.”
      - Personal Opinion: Building upon my previous argument there is a lot of credible evidence to suggest that GMOs don't have a significant effect on human health. Some of these organizations include the WHO, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. under the Codex Alimentarius Commission it is unlikely that any significant problems with GMO's will be able to make it to the open market. It is especially unlikely that such a problem would survive long enough to cause the human race to end.
  - - - Studies by French researchers shows that rats eating genetically modified corn and the herbicide Roundup have experienced health effects such as liver damage, kidney damage, and mammary tumors.
        
        Assuming these studies are entirely accurate and represent the full truth, then it is problematic that GMOs cause these issues in animals. Despite this, these issues have no where near the caliber to affect the entire human race to a point where humankind is at risk. As well, other animals are not completely indicative of humans, but I still think they are worth noting, especially since much of the information about GMOs pertains to animal testing, which can be controlled much more easily than human trials.
      - -Several AAEM health studies on animals revealed severe health effects, such as infertility and major organ changes.
    - - The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine- Despite the problems with many of the available animal feeding studies concerning GMOs, the studies together provided evidence that none of the animals in the studies had adverse health effects as a result of eating GM crops.
      - The Royal Society has declared that a study where rats fed with GM potatoes had damage to bacteria in their gut is flawed and that no real conclusions should be drawn from it. One of the reasons they see it to be flawed is that too few rats were used per test group.
      - Monsanto claims that GM seeds have been tested more than any other plant in history, to the avail of no harm for animals and humans.
      - European Commission- "there is, as of today, no scientific evidence associating GMOs with higher risks for... and feed safety than conventional plants."
        
        Although it is possible that valid studies have showed that GMOs cause problems in animals, these organizations, which are extremely credible( except for Monsanto, which is likely very biased, as they are a biotechnology company), would say otherwise. These studies seem to indicate that there are no significant environmental impacts on the environment from GMOs, which supports our assertion.