Genetically modified crops: risks and benefits to human health - Essay Example

Many children in the United States and European countries have been diagnosed with dreadful allergies to peanuts and other genetically modified foods. As Whitman (2000) warns, introducing a new gene into a plant may lead to the formation of new allergen or allergic reaction in susceptible individuals. A recent study examined the effects of genetically modified potatoes on rats’ digestive tract. The research outcomes indicate that there were significant differences between the intestines of rats which ingested GM potatoes and those fed natural potatoes.

Formation of herbicide-resistant weeds and spread of diseases beyond species barriers are other devastating effects of GM crops (food) on humans. Another potential risk of GM crops to humans is that artificially created genetic characteristics together with some unavoidable side effects will be passed to next generations and other related organisms. However, agricultural biotechnology has a set of benefits also. According to Bullinger (2009, p. 164), herbicide tolerance and cold tolerance are some of the notable benefits of GM crops.

In addition, genetically modified crops are able to prevent many plant diseases that are caused by viruses, fungi, and bacteria. The agriculture biotechnology is able to develop GM foods containing sufficient levels of nutrition. II. Importance of Animals in Toxicology Animals are used in laboratory experiments in toxicology because majority of such experiments involves high level or risks. When a substance is introduced into a person, it interacts with various processes throughout the body, and an influence on one process may result in unanticipated consequences in others.

Since “the dose makes the poison”; improper dosages of a substance would cause devastating impacts on human body (Society of Toxicology, 2006). Therefore, animals are used in toxicology to examine how a chemical works and what its appropriate or safer dosage levels are. III. Dose-response Curve A dose-response curve is an X-Y graph that depicts the receptor’s response to the drug’s dosage. In a dose-response curve, dose or dose function is plotted along the X-axis and the observed response is plotted on the Y-axis.

In the curve, a point where the response is just above the control response or zero is marked as threshold-dose. Generally, most of the drugs bring desired results at doses slightly above the threshold dose. When the substance is more potent, the curve will be too steeper. The dose-response curve indicates that any drug will not cause any positive response after a particular dosage. IV. Substance with high LD50 and low LD50 LD50 is the theoretically proven dosage needed to kill 50% of the test subjects or a given population.

Hence, substances with low LD50 can kill 50% of the given population with a small dose whereas substances with high LD50 require much greater dosage to kill half of the subjects. For instance, cyanide has a lower LD50 (6mg/kg) than strychnine (16mg/kg). However, given the same dose of cyanide and strychnine, cyanide is more likely to kill a person and hence it is more toxic. V. The Precautionary Principle Obviously, the precautionary principle is recommendable in the context that majority of the emissions or activities are likely to cause serious health impacts.

To illustrate, individuals who wish to introduce a new chemical, a new industrial process, or