Another act that exists is the DARK Act, which stands for ‘Deny Americans the Right to Know (DARK act. org). This act is an anti-GMO bill that was passed to the House of Representatives back in 2015 and preempts state and local authority to label and regulate genetically engineered foods (Ecowatch. com). Basically, what this bill does is to keep the consumer in the blind and stops the USDA to mandate labeling. Allowing for these manufactures to mislead the customer with labels that say their food is “natural or organic”, when their food has been genetically modified or engineered.
Americans should have the same right as citizens of 64 other countries to know what’s in their food and how it’s grown (Justlabelit. org). This should be upsetting to Americans, we are one of the biggest country in the world and still being denied the right to know what we are eating. So, what is genetically modified organisms and engineered foods you ask? What we know is that it is the product of DNA being split and transferred to plants or animals to create a new modified version of it, but not natural to theirs.
It is also the mixing of genes from different species that have never been shared before in the past. Mixing that has not been created through conventional crossbreeding methods. Basically, taking any type of species (e. g. plants, animals, bacteria, viral) and creating engineered combinations of genes to create new unnatural modified engineered species. Wouldn’t making these new unnatural genes affect our health? That is what we should be asking ourselves. Is that why cancer and other health scares and disease are on the rise?
In my opinion, it is not natural and healthy to be eating unnatural new species of foods. Something has to go wrong when these genes are being created and being split into new species. These compositional changes in these foods are on the rise and probable of producing unanticipated changes in their genetic makeup. One of these changes can be radiation mutagenesis, that doesn’t sound very pleasing to the ear or even to be eaten. These radical and unnatural changes can’t be good for the health of humans or even to animals.
Our bodies are not use to or made to take in genetically modified and engineered foods. The process to digest these new foods can be detrimental to our health. Maybe this is the reason for higher rates of cancers and other diseases that we are seeing and living in our generation. Genetically modified organisms and crops play a big role in our health and environment. The risks to our health and exposed for using genetically modified crops or plants have not been yet proven because we are too early in the game of this genetically modification and engineering process.
Thinking that this is a small solution to our problem for hunger and feeding Americans, then maybe they are just creating more problems that may not have solutions for in the future. However, the US National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine, states otherwise. In a new report that details how genetically modified organisms are apparently safe for human consumption and surprisingly, also have significant benefits for human health and the environment(FDA. org). They base their findings on an intensive and detailed report with past studies about GMOs.
The many interviews with scientists, researchers and field experts that have data stating that they are not bad for one’s health. This helps determine whether it is good or bad for the health when it comes to eating genetical modified foods. They even have a new study that suggests that when crops are being engineered to improve human health, by altered to produce more vitamins or nutrients. This might be one good side of it, but why should we playing with mother nature? This is a big gamble we are taking. We can put all our chips on these scientists that are creating our food.
Many of these studies are done by scientists or laboratories that are being funded by the same companies that are using genetically engineering in their products. And, besides being funded, most of them have financial gain from participating and working with them. Thus, not providing with all the dangerous side effects that these foods might have and might be causing our health. Even the big company Cargill, that supplies a lot of our farmers with their seeds is partnering with a Non-GMO organization that gives the farmers a sense of insecurity.
Some of the farmers’ concerns are well-founded, in that the Non-GMO project is not an unbiased, non-aligned, independent lab,” (A slap in the face; farmers). The farmers are concern that their seed provider is discrediting the genetically modified technology, bringing fear to their consumers. But, Cargill basically states that both modified crops and non-modified can co-exist and that they are the biggest supporter of the farmers. The reason for them being in a partnership with a non-GMO organization is to use them for research due to lack of Federal standards for non-GMO products in our country.
The most at risk for health issues are our children, because their immune system has not been fully grown and thus making them more susceptible to disease. The toxins might make the child react more adversely than adults. And because children are more prone to food allergens, they are at a higher risk of death due to it. According to the UK Royal Society, “genetic modification could lead to unpredicted harmful changes in the nutritional state of foods; and recommended that potential health effects of genetically modified foods be rigorously researched before being fed to pregnant or breastfeeding women and babies” (Smith, Jeffrey).
New technology can always create more negative health issues. However, we are still trying to process this new technology and not much has been brought upon stopping it, well here in the United States anyway. In conclusion, this is all to inform the readers of all the harmful effects of genetically modified organisms and Bioengineering on the health of living organisms, along with the impact it has on the environment, if any. And, to open the eyes of the public, to inform them that they need to be more aware of what they are consuming in everyday life.
No one can foresee the future consequences of the overall GMO technology, but at this point we should be educated and aware of the changes of it. We can let them decide what is good for us and not be responsible for the outcome. Our responsibility as a country, should be to bring awareness and learn to read the early alarm signals. For example, growing evidence that the wholesale disappearance of bees relates directly to the appearance of ever more genetically modified pollen (Honey’s not for GMOs). The mutations of genes in the pollen has affected the bees’ digestive system.
Thus, making it harder for them to digest and produce honey, affecting their ecosystem. Some might argue is not associated with genetically modified organisms, but you can turn a blind eye and not take that in consideration regarding the dilemma we are having with the bee’s colonies. And not only in bees are we seeing changes, but with our own bodies we see how these modified foods can create issues with these mutations that travel throughout our human body. Also, these genetically modified or engineered crops has made our farmers use and increase the use of herbicides due to immune and new resistant weeds that are plaguing their crops.
Creating these new resistant weeds will just make it harder to control what is used to kill them and for us not having the control of what we are eating. Additionally, Americans across the country are speaking up for our rights to know what is in our food and how its grown. This is our humanly rights and we should take this very serious. We need people to start being more active and contact the FDA to demand mandatory genetically modified organism labeling in all our food. Educate yourself and others about what this means, do not let others choose for you.