GMOs Require Restrictions And Better Labelling Or Identification - Case Study Example

GMOs require restrictions and better labelling or identification Introduction The new techniques of genetic engineering are more useful and specific offering improved animals, microorganisms, and crops to the public. However, these techniques are raising concerns over the public policies. Those that support the GM technologies argue that it is proving difficult for the regulatory agencies to secure better approaches toward law and regulation of these techniques (Miller & Andrew 63). They claim that there will be high costs attached to the control since it needs a technology that encompass recombinant DNA, loss of precious time, and massive use of energies to cover its public benefits. Further, the current experiences in the US and the world over do not seem to involve the answers to the lasting questions about the GMOs. Moreover, it is quite challenging for the regulatory agencies to approach the field covering synthetic biology. Miller & Andrew note that the supporters suggest that synthetic biology involves the designing and constructing of new devices, components, and systems to ensure standardization of the biological parts for mixing and assembling. Nevertheless, the opponents of the GMOs emphasize that more harmful consequences result from the use of genetic engineering techniques. Fundamentally, there are increased health risks such as food allergies, increasing toxicity, and intensified antibiotic resistance. Additionally, there are more agricultural problems like decreased biodiversity and more environmental harms. Therefore, the GMOs require restrictions and labelling as they may have harmful challenges to the health, agriculture, and the environment. The harmful effects of GMOs Health effects Increased allergic reactions Considerable evidence points out that allergic reactions occur after harmless proteins enter the body causing immune responses. When new proteins from the GMOs enter the human bodies, they are likely to cause increased immune responses. Despite having many challenges, the GMOs tend to initiate severe allergic reactions. For instance, the new pesticides have residual effects in the alimentary canal where they alter the gut bacteria and cause allergic and peripheral immune responses. Since there is no labelling of the foods in the markets, the people with allergies find it difficult to differentiate naturally bred and genetically modified products. The situation leads them to purchase foods that later on cause reactions in their bodies, which are irritating and harmful to their health. In this regard, the various governments need to provide regulatory policies and laws that initiate the identification and labelling of GM products to lessen human suffering (Amofah 118). The scientists suggest that the capacity of the proteins to withstand the gastric juices and the heat might cause allergic reactions in the human bodies such as peanuts. They hold that there is dumping of foods on various markets without proper tests, regulations, and labelling. Due to this fact, various concerned individuals feel that the numerous firms that produce GM foods use the humans as test labs. Further, Amofah (118) claims that these cases are unbearable; hence, rules, laws, and regulations should be in place to control the dangerous health effects associated with the allergens encountered. The USA safety agencies need to carry out labelling of the GM foods appropriately to avoid confusions among the consumers and facilitate post-market evaluations and monitoring to determine any fatal health effects. Increased toxicity In the recent past, many countries have been on the forefront to discourage the production of GM foods. The scientists argue that the health care authorities have inadequate capacities to test all the available combinations of the GMOs on a large-scale basis for the safety of the rapidly growing human population. Besides, it has been quite a long time since the production of the first GM foods but there is no absolute certainty concerning the harmless aspect of the GM products (Pellegrini 45). Essentially, the scientists have identified multiple toxins in fetal and maternal blood. Due to the potential toxicity of the readily available environmental pollutants and the fetus’ fragility, there exists an urgent necessity for more studies to realize the alleged levels of toxicity (Von Götz 1961). Furthermore, fetuses seem to be more susceptible to the adverse effects of the xenobiotics that exist in the organisms that are not natural. In this case, the environmental agents may interfere with the biological events required in the standard growth and development of the fetuses. For better growth and development regarding the coming generations, rules, laws, and regulations need implementation to establish the safety of the GM foods (Oraby et al., 265). The DNA that exist in the GM foods may enter the human bodies and cause alterations. Researchers have noted that fragments of the meal-derived DNA have complete genes that possibly enter the human circulatory system via unknown mechanisms. These instances raise the plant DNA and affect the human DNA. As a matter of fact, the human bloodstream is an environment that requires separation from the outside world. Therefore, its contamination raises an alarm since large molecules of plant DNAs affect the digestion of the proteins (Bai et al., 2). If there is a modification in the digestion and absorption of the proteins in the bodies, complications occur leading to malfunctioning of the circulatory system (Smith 46). The situation is fatal and can result in complications and untimely deaths. Hence, it is important to restrict such products and label them to warn and allow the populations to use them at own risks. Rules and regulations need an encouragement to counter the mass production and sale of such products that enter the markets without prior tests. Antibiotic resistance Considerable evidence indicates an alarm among the health care practitioners due to increased instances of numerous bacterial strains that are resistant to antibiotics. It is evident that bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics due to the creation of resistance genes, which are as a result of natural mutations (Moreno-Bondi 875). At one point, the biotechnologists use genes that are resistant to antibiotics as selectable markers without determining whether such plants will include the genes into new genomes. Therefore, it is a concern since the bacteria thriving in the human and animal guts could pick the antibiotic resistance genes from such plants and cause gene mutations. Once this occurs, the genes in the humans will evolve into something else that can cause resistance to drugs (Michaud 933). The situation is dangerous since it will take time and money to realize the exact problems that face the human populations. Thus, it is important for the concerned agencies to come up with new methodologies that will ensure less production of the engineered foods to avoid the predictable antibiotic resistance that might worsen the global economy. Regulations and labelling will result in a less spread of unsafe foods into the market and ensure the safety of the citizens. Worsened nutritional value Theoretically, genetically engineered food seems to have low levels of nutritional qualities as opposed to the traditionally bred foods. The situation enhances due to the ability of the GM products to cause unavailability of the nutrients or render them indigestible by humans. For instance, the phytate compound is typical in the grains and seeds that bind to make minerals unavailable to the humans. Due to gene insertion by the genetic engineers, there is a production of high levels of phytate compounds that decrease the mineral nutritional values of the plants. The situation leads to a lack of vital compounds in the human bodies causing diseases that could otherwise be history. Evidentially, some types of GM foods such as soybeans produce low levels of phytoestrogen that the body needs in the fight against cancer and heart diseases. The case is opposite to the traditional production of soybeans that avail enough phytoestrogen to protect the human bodies against the heart diseases and cancers (King 29). Environmental effects Degradation of biodiversity In spite of the potential benefits of the genetic engineering methodologies, there are increased environmental risks. For instance, the transfer of genetic materials into plant varieties cause a development of aggressive weeds that threaten the world’s biological diversity. The GMOs create a reinforced genetic uniformity while promoting large-scale monocultures leading to a declined biodiversity. Similarly, they result in an increased vulnerability of crops to pests, climate change, and diseases. The GM crops have the ability to grow in a diversified environment and can interact with many plant species in the surrounding environment and the agro ecosystems. Due to this ability, they can potentially affect the ecological roles, fitness regarding the other species, and the population changes (Moye 191). Besides, they can cause population explosions, changes in the structure and functions both outside and inside the agro ecosystems leading to the loss of valuable plants. Therefore, the governments and concerned agencies should regulate and label the genetically engineered products to avoid the deadly effects to the environment. Increased pollutants causing pollution and climate change The genetically engineered crops associated with pesticide use cause fear regarding the environmental conservation policies. Despite the many dangerous consequences of the GM products to the environment, the US regulators still approve the crops. For instance, the EPA has recently approved Enlist Duo, a toxic herbicide cocktail that is a blend of 2, 4-D and glyphosate chemicals. Essentially, the 2, 4-D has dangerous effects on the human and animal health. An increase in the usage of the toxic herbicides affect the people that reside near the farms (Bronner 2). The toxic substances pollute the environment through their introduction into the water, soil, and air. The pollutants cause air pollution leading to an increased rate harming the environment. When there is soil alteration, the PH turn either extremely acidic or basic causing massive deaths of important microorganisms that should be available for the ecosystem’s continuity. As a result, the environment lacks the vital components that ensure its sustainability, and hence, its fast degradation. Thus, there is an initiation of climate change that result from altered capacity of the environment to sustain itself. Regulating and labelling of the herbicides used in the agricultural sector will facilitate their identification and lead to minimal environmental effects. Agricultural effects The development of “super weeds.” In the world today, many farmers have access to and use more herbicides than never before. Mindful of this situation, the weeds have adapted to the numerous herbicides generating new “super weeds” that are resistant to the herbicides used. Due to resistance, the use of herbicides increase leading to pollution of the soils affecting the soil structure and reduced crop production. Further, the resistance of weeds to the herbicides is a challenge to the farmers since they waste time and money without getting rid of the weeds. Also, the weeds grow and compete with the intended crops resulting in reduced yields. Bronner (2) claims that for the security of the crops and foods to be substantial, the farmers need to use the traditional agricultural methods that do not cause resistance to crops. For instance, most of the third world countries have not utilized the GM products fully but they can produce more than enough for their populations. It is key for the governments to intervene and set policies that regulate the usage of engineered herbicides for the production of GM foods. Costly genetically engineered methodologies In this respect, the current efforts have a focus on the few crop and trait combinations that tend to possess high commercial values both in the local and global markets. The genetic engineering aspect purely focuses on the profits rather than on enough food that can feed the hungry population. The situation makes the technologies expensive, and concentrating it on a few able individuals (Hall 98). These persons lack the essential ability to feed the rapidly growing human populations leading to famine and hunger within certain parts of the world. Because of this, more populations that do not have the economic ability to purchase the GM foods suffer from poverty. Thus, it is crucial to establish the regulations and laws that will enhance traditional production of foods to increase their access to the populations that are in need. Conclusion It is evident that the genetically modified products have shocking effects on the humans, the environment, and the agricultural sector. Despite the potential benefits associated with the technology, it is wise to take into consideration the deadly consequences caused by the use and consumption of these kinds of products. As viewpoints in this essay hold, it is clear that genetic engineering cause an allergic reaction, toxicity, impaired nutritional values, and antibiotic resistance. Additionally, the technology reduces the environmental biodiversity and leads to increased pollution. Moreover, the use of herbicides to genetically engineer the production of foods results in the establishment of “super weeds” that lower the agricultural production. Nevertheless, the technology is costly leading to a concentration of the food production on a handful farmers that cannot provide enough for the growing human populations. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to come up with means and ways that will regulate and label the GM foods and products to avoid the harmful effects associated with their use. Works Cited Amofah, George. "Recommendations From A Meeting On Health Implications Of Genetically Modified Organism (Gmo)." Ghana Medical Journal 48.2 (2014): 117-119. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 May 2015. Bai, H., Wang, Z., Hu, R., Kan, T., Li, Y., Zhang, X., Zhang, J., Lian, L., Han, H., & Lian, Z. "A 90-Day Toxicology Study Of Meat From Genetically Modified Sheep Overexpressing TLR4 In Sprague-Dawley Rats." Plos ONE 10.4 (2015): 1-15. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 May 2015. Bronner, David. "Herbicide And Insecticide Use On GMO Crops Skyrocketing While Pro-GMO Media Run Interference." Progressive 78.11 (2014): 2. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 May 2015. Hall, Jeremy, Vernon Bachor, and Stelvia Matos. 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