Health Effects of Roundup Ready Crops - Research Paper Example

Health Effects of Roundup Ready Crops Derrick Haws The public is growing more aware that there is a real threat to humanity from the toxins produced by Roundup Ready crops and the damage caused from using the herbicide Roundup for several decades. The World Health Organization has reported that all genetically modified organisms including Roundup Ready crops that are currently being sold in the international markets today have passed all of the risk assessment tests. Roundup-tolerant genetically modified (GM) maize has proven to cause serious health effects on the health of humans and animals. Consumption of Roundup Ready crops cause toxic levels of glyphosate that have proven to cause short and long-term health risks to its consumers including. This report provides research that Roundup Ready crops have not proven safe for consumption. Keywords:Roundup Ready crops;Roundup-tolerant GM maize Table of Contents Abstract 1 Table of Contents 1 General Information 3 Thesis Statement 3 Report Audience 3 Authors Purpose 3 Argumentative Requirement Fulfillment Statement 3 Introduction 1 Human Health Risks 2 Resultsfrom the Research 2 Critics of the Research 3 Rétraction 4 Lack of Evidence 5 Answer to Critics 5 Environment 6 Soil Residues 7 Allergies 8 Conclusion 9 References 11 General Information Thesis Statement Roundup Ready crops cause negative health effects and are not safe for consumption. Report Audience The primary audience for this paper is the consumers of Roundup Ready crops, with at least a high school diploma, some college education and perhaps a college degree. The audience may also be interested in gaining knowledge concerning the side effects from the consumption of Roundup Ready crops. More importantly, my instructor Robert Crane is also my audience for this paper. Authors Purpose The purpose of this paper is to educate consumers about the adverse health effects that are caused by the consumption of Roundup Ready crops grown by genetically modified seeds. This paper will present research that has proven Roundup Ready crops and the residues left behind from spraying crops with Roundup can have adverse long term health implications. The various types of health effects will also be presented within this paper. Argumentative Requirement Fulfillment Statement The current report explored the viewpoints from authors who directly disagree as well asthose who directly agree with the thesis statement. The report concluded that there are a lot of recent articles that argue in favor of the thesis statement.Furthermore, the articles that argue against the thesis statement were harder to find and many of those articles were not as recent as articles that have been published supporting the thesis. The World Health Organization has reported that all genetically modified organisms including Roundup ready crops that are currently sold in the international markets today have all passed the risk assessment tests required to receive a permit to conduct such business(Domingo, 2007). According to the research from a 13 week study performed by Hammond et al. (2004) on two groups of Sprague Dawley rats did not show any significant health effects in either the control or non-control groups.Carpenter (2001) as well as other toxicology reports have reported that there are no risk and no evidence of carcinogenic development from genetically modified organism (GMOs).Contrary to this, many other studies havereported high toxic levels from Roundup Ready crops and have indicated that the herbicide Roundup do result in adverse health effects (Seralini, et al., 2012). Critics claim these studies had several flaws, e.g., poor study design, false or unsubstantiated claims, data presentation deficiencies,control data was not always included and in rare cases the data neversupported the conclusions (Arjo et al.,2001). Another advocate for GM crops argues that the Serilini study had key elements missing and statistical flaws along with poor management of data. DeFrancesco (2013) and many other plant researchers disagree with the findings and are not contented on letting the Serilini study go unchallenged. Finally, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and Drug Administration have all approved the use of Roundup ready crops and have deemed them safe for consumption. GMOs are of major interest in the scientific community where for instance, many are calling the United States to relax some of the policies in place (DeFrancesco, 2013). Introduction The current research majorly aimed at presenting the viewpoints for the authors who directly disagree as well as for those who directly agree with the thesis statement that include Roundup Ready crops cause negative health effects and are not safe for consumption. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) works in collaboration with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) , US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug agency (FDA) to determine if crops are safe to grow for consumption and are responsible for the monitoring and regulations of herbicides. With the invention of new technologies in farming, new methods of controlling weeds on farms was paramount. Efforts by Monsanto to address farming issues invented an herbicide that would control the weeds. Monsanto engineered a genetically modified (GM) seed deemed Roundup Ready crops which would be resistant to herbicides, in particular Roundup. The genetic modification of organisms (GMOs) is an acceptable practice that started in the 1990’s. Monsanto is the major manufacturer that produces GMOs known to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup that contains the ingredient glyphosate. Glyphosate is the center of major controversies and debates that have gained a lot of attention over the past decade, especially from the results ofresearches which concluded that there are short and long-term health effects caused by Roundup Ready crops and Roundup itself (Seralini, et al., 2012). The publication of the research by Seriliniet al.(2012) in the Food Chemical and Toxicology (FCT) journal caused a significant controversy. In this case, the research was the first to have implications that glyphosate had long-term effects that cause cancerous tumors. Serilini et al. (2012) was widely criticized for the manner in which they presented the findings from their study. Non-disclosure statements had to be signed by all of the journalists that were invited to view their data. One of the major foundations of the scientific community is their willingness to share information and data. Presentation of their finding in that manner was regarded as offensive and it was neglected by many other researchers (DeFrancesco, 2013) Many other studies have been conducted and concluded different results concerning the presence of toxic levels of glyphosate. Arjo et al. (2012) argue that the studies had several flaws, e.g., poor study design, false or unsubstantiated claims, data presentation deficiencies, as well as the control data was not included. The findings did not support the conclusions. The Environmental Protection agency and the Food and Drug Administration have all approved the use of Roundup ready crops and have deemed them safe for consumption. Carpenter (2001) as well as other toxicology reports have reported that there are no risks from GMOs and there is no evidence of carcinogenic development from glyphosate. Results show that the GM seeds used and the crops sprayed with Roundup have the same nutritional value as other forms of conventional and organic crops. Roundup Ready crop advocates deny any existence of toxins as a result of the use of Roundup.GMOs are scrutinized and researched by the scientific community more than any other food. Many researchers have concluded that GM crops are safe for consumption and have called for governments internationally and locally to reduce their monitoring and raise their acceptable levels of the by products derived from GM foods (DeFrancesco, 2013). Human Health Risks The study undertaken by Seralini et al. (2012) is seen to have raised major concerns and is considered to be one of the most comprehensive and ambitious research study concerning Roundup Ready crops and glyphosate ever undertaken. Two hundred rats were usedin the study consisting of 100 females and 100 males; they were separated into groups of ten males and ten females. In addition, the research was conductedwithin a period of two year. It is also important to note that the longest previous study was undertaken for over a period of 240 days (Philpott, 2012).The aim of the study was to determine how the health of the rats would be affected by GM maize, GM maize treated with the herbicide Roundup, as well as the effects of glyphosate that is the key ingredient in Roundup. The researchers wanted to know whether the effects originated from the GM maize itself or from GM maize treated with glyphosate –based herbicide Roundup. Two hundred rats were separated into three groups and were fed different doses of GM maize (11, 22 and 33 % of the diet), three groups were fed the same dose of GM maize that had not been treated with the herbicide Roundup. For this group, the researchers administered different levels of glyphosate in their drinking water, which ensured the levels ingested would not vary as it may havebeen from consuming the GM maize. Resultsfrom the Research Based on their results, it was observed that there were adverse health effects that included liver and kidney damage in males as well as large mammary tumors, mammary gland pathological signs and pituitary dysfunctions in females (Seralini et al.,2012).Many of the health effects occurred regardless of whether the GM maize or Roundup itself were used separately or together. Among the rats treated with glyphosate, it was observed that 70% of females as well as 50% of males had died prematurely and before the normal age of death, compared to the 20% and 30% in the control group, 50-80% of the females had developed tumors in all of the treated groups, some exhibiting three tumors per rat,70-80% pituitary gland among the females was the second most affected organ 1.4-2.4 times more than the control group (Seralini et al.,2012). There was necrosis as well as liver congestions in males which was 2.5-5.5 times higher when compared to the control group (Seralini et al., 2012). This study was affirmed by several photos of rats having grotesquely large tumors. To some extent, this could prove the claim that Roundup Ready crops are harmful to our health. Critics of the Research There have been questions from the industry aligned scientists regarding the study. For instance, longtime criticssuch as the Consumers Union’s Michael Hansen one of the senior staff scientistsnoted that the design of the study was one of the best when compared with any other study previously performed by researchers in the industry (Philpott, 2013). According to Hansen, the sample size used in the study, 10 females and 10 males was too small to draw any conclusions. Furthermore, the Sprague Dawley rats used in the study are considered to be more prone to mammary tumor development. Therefore, the small size together with the rat strain used implies that the mammary tumor development observed was misleading.Hansen further argued that based on the individual comparisons such as the mammary tumors or kidney dysfunction that occurred are not statistically significant due to the sample size that was considered as a whole. Hence, the results indicated a troubling image. Generally, there were 54 comparisons made which were between the control groups and the non-control group (Seralini et al., 2012). In this case, the treated rats had outcomes that were considerably worse. This analysis indicates that there is a problem and further research is suggested (Arjo et al., 2012). In regards to the number of rats used in the study, Hansen claimed that the reason long-term research, has notbeen conducted is due to the fact that multi-year studies are extremely expensive. The analysis of the Seralini et al. (2012) study by Hansen was supported by Ted Schettler, science director of the Science and Environmental Health Network (SEHN) who claimed that the study never considered the data regarding the control groups water intake as well as total food intake between the two groups (Philpott, 2013). This is based on the fact that the food and water quantity consumed by animals could have an effect both on the kidney function as well as tumor development and this could have an effect on mortality as well. Schettler further notes that the data presentation of the research was unusual and was not easy for him to decipher (Philpott, 2013). He suggested that there is a need for more long-term studies concerning the health effects of Roundup Ready crops and glyphosate within the industry standardsand with the appropriate number of animals in every group. It would be very expensive to use enough rats to indicate statistically significant results. Critics also argue that the study is hardly definitive, but there are disturbing results provided by the research performed by Serilini et al, (2012).Therefore, more research needs to be done to substantiate the results. Rétraction The Seralini et al. (2012) research which investigated the NK603 Roundup-tolerant GM maize long term toxicity evoked negative and positive reactions globally. The article released in Food Chemical and Toxicology (FCT) journal was retracted due to the level of criticism the article received and conflicts of interest that surmounted from several industry leaders which Monsanto had influenced (Serilini, et al., 2014). In regard to the retraction, the researchers wrote many letters to the editor arguing their article was pulled due to many conflicts of interest (Serilini et al., 2014). It was noted that it was the work considered to be the most detailed study which entailed long-term consumptions of glyphosate where, previous studies were limitedon the same strain of rats. According to a 13 week study performed by Monsanto, which fed one group of rats Roundup Ready corn and a second group of rats fed control grain corn 11%, 22% and 33%, the no-observed-effect level (NOEL) was equal for the group fed Roundup Ready corn and the control group, in the highest dietary level (33%) administered (Carpenter, 2001). Furthermore, neither groups of rats studied exhibited any toxic levels, abnormal body weight or abnormalities in their internal organs. (Hammond et al., 2004).The author noted that there are various studies which have indicated significant effects in the endocrine glands like progesterone production decrease, steroid genic acute regulatory mRNA levels decrease in MA-10Leydig cells (Walsh et al., 2000). All the fore mentioned health effects justify the relevance of the study undertaken by Seralini et al., (2012). In regard to the findings generated from the electronic microscopic and macroscopic analysis, it was pertinent to compare the results with the previous ones. In this case, several studies have indicated liver abnormalities (Malatesta et al., 2002). Also, the reproduction of these structural disturbances was from direct application of glyphosate to the hepatocytes of the rats (Malatesta et al., 2008). In addition, the observations are in line with Seralini et al. (2012) study as well as other studies that considered the effects of glyphosate (Gasnier et al., 2010). Lack of Evidence Some critics claim that no adverse health effects have ever been reported from any human populations, as well as anyfarm animal ownerswithin the USA. In this case, the unknown crop mixture derived from GM crops due to lack of tracking organic, conventional and GM crops separately support that the findings are unsubstantiated. Critics also argue that these claims by Serilini et al. (2012) are not significant in respect to other scientific studies.Also, there areno epidemiological studies on humans that have ever existed along with any farm animal monitoring in an effort to correlate any health effects experienced as a result of GM crop consumption. It is pertinent to recall that rearing of farm animals is not done with the aim of them keeping them throughout theirnatural lifespan, that is, farms animals never live long enough to develop chronic diseases. Lastly, the labeling of the GM crops as well as the feed for farm animals hasnever existed. Hence, there cannot be a clear epidemiological survey that can be undertaken without labeling or clear traceability. Answer to Critics In case it is generally concluded by the critics of the Serilini et al. (2012) study that there is no significant change in the sub chronic toxicity studies of the GMOs (Domingo and Gine, 2011; Hammond et al., 2004), then this would contradict the fact that there has been identification of the disturbances which could be interpreted differently (Seralini et al., 2009; Spirouxet al., 2010). Based on the detailed analysis undertaken, it was revealed that there were changes in the liver and kidneys normal functions and this could signify early chronic intoxication (Seralini et al., 2007; Spirouxet al., 2009). It was indeed demonstrated that there was induction of the endocrine disturbances in the cells of humans by glyphosate concentrations which were in the range of 103 (Gasnier et al., 2009). Later, there were toxic effects observed which included in vitro (Romano et al., 2012). After consumption of the Roundup resistant soy for several months by the mice, it was observed that their pancreas and livers were affected and this was shown by disturbances in sub-nuclear structure (Malatesta et al., 2008). In addition, the generation of such toxic effects is a direct result from the application of Roundup on crops (Malatesta et al., 2008). According to the report published by Thomas (2015) on the IARC website, Roundup Ready crops can cause cancer as a result of the toxicological effects of glyphosate and it is grouped under the category of 2A of carcinogenicity. The research indicated that glyphosate caused abnormal growth in the human blood cells, which eventually cause cancer. The researchers further added that there was evidence that glyphosate damaged DNA and chromosomes in fish (Guilherme et al., 2012). Questions have been raised on whether Monsanto cares about the health of the consumers of its products. Among others, Rohn (2014) described Roundup Ready crops as harmful to the human health and insists that further studies be conducted which is extremely difficult when Monsanto restricts the access to its products with strict patent laws. Environment Research has revealed that the ingredient used in the production of Roundup Ready crops called the glyphosate can accumulate and remain in the soil for decades (Cuhra et al., 2015). The persistent use of Roundup would interfere with the soils biological structure, changing the soil PH, clay content, and the abortion rates. Glyphosate reduces the beneficial microorganisms in the soil that is critical for the perfect plant function and high-quality nutrition promoting the proliferations of disease-causing microorganisms. The pathogens stimulate the organisms, and the natural biological control organisms are quite sensitive to concentrations of glyphosate in the soil causing problems in the natural growth process. (Malatesta et al., 2008). The use of the pesticide contaminating the soil, rivers or any nearby crops that is conventional or organic. Advocates also argue that the use and production of genetically modified crops contribute to more crops being produced for less money with the potential to stop world hunger and eliminate significant soil erosion from less tilling used to maintain the GM crops.Herbicide tolerant GM plantsare considered to be very crucial in the production system and are always used by farmers. The residues of herbicides and their metabolites are seen to accumulate in the final products, thus, increasing the toxicity of the products. For confirmation of the issue, the study that included 31 samples of soybean grown within a particular area within the state of Iowa, US were collected for analysis (Ding et al., 2011). According to the study findings, it was observed that GM soybeans contain high levels of glyphosate and AMPA because of the continuous spraying of the plant with glyphosate related herbicide (Ding et al., 2011). Conventional soybeans contain low residue levels of glyphosate AMPA because of the pre- planting applications. Since the use of chemical sand pesticides are not allowed in the organic farming, organic soybeans would have zero glyphosate residues. The kind of agricultural practices under which they form would affect the nutritional composition and quality of the soybeans samples (Ding et al., 2011). Leaves and grains from Roundup Ready crops can affect aquatic life as well when they enter watercourses result to toxins to accumulate in organisms to cause a toxic effect. Soil Residues Bohn and Cuhra (2014) argue glyphosate levels are on the rise, especially when Amino-methyl-phosphoric acid (AMPA) the principal breakdown product of glyphosate are measured in tandem. Recent research conducted on the model organism Daphnia Magna demonstrated continued exposure to glyphosate and commercial versions of Roundup resulted in negative health effects in several life-history traits, reduced fertility rates and increased abortion rates (Cuhra et al., 2015). The levels of Accepted Daily Intake (ADI) have continually been increased by several nations without sufficient research following the guidelines of good science. The previous guideline levels for ADI had implications of negative health effects caused by glyphosate. Increasing the levels ADI without the necessary research done is irresponsible by the governments of nations that should be protecting its citizens. The long-term effects of glyphosate have not been studied enough, more studies are necessary accompanied with results that will provide transparency to the public not just the researchers. Contaminated soils can have grave effects for all food crops and adverse health effects from the consumption of such crops by humans and animals(Moore et al. 2012). Allergies It well known by scientist for a long time that GM crops could cause allergies, but tests to prove that GM crops are save in advance don’t exist. The reason to this is that individuals are never allergic to foods until the moment they consume it in several occasions. The available test for allergies that is definitive based on FDA is human consumption by people who are affected and this can have ethical considerations (DeFrancesco, 2013). United Kingdom is seen to be one of the nations who usually undertake food allergies evaluation annually and it was found that genetically modified soy allergies went up 50% over the past years. Food allergies are on the rise where, the CDC reported the food allergies incidence in children under 18 and they noted that it rose from 3.4 percent to 5.1 percent between 1997 and 2011.The cause of this rise and the link to the new allergens is not clear (DeFrancesco, 2013). According to research, the GM products have unique patho-physiological profiles underlining the reasons for their systematic evaluation andanalysisfor their safetyandregulations. Since the GM products have both detrimental and beneficial effect to some extent, it would be very difficult to comment on the sub chronic toxic effect of the GM foods that include Roundup Ready crops (Patel et al., 2005). The Roundup Ready crops produce the GM foods that are chemically proven for human consumption, but there is contrary to glyphosate herbicide used. The effect of the GM products such as Roundup-tolerant genetically modified (GM) maize on human health is unpredictable, and the biggest threat is the presence of the unique allergens in the GM foodsupply. Since human beings response to allergens is similar to other organisms, most people have allergies if they consume GM foods. The scientific controversy surrounding safety assessment of the GM products does not reflect if the products are safe for the human consumption. The independent scientific research studies on the safety of GM products for animals and humans are not available (Pacheco et al., 2012).Genetically improvised foods have a high probability of causing allergenic reactions proven by the scientists whose studies were based onmice (Harrison et al., 1996). The main pesticide of the world, Roundup invokes significant hepatic renal deficiencies and the sex- dependent hormonal effect like mammary tumors from verylow environmental levels (Baskaran et al., 2010). The Roundup formulations and the Roundup tolerant genetically modified products are sources of endocrine disruptors, and their provision of health is drastically low (Vendomois et al., 2009). About 80 percent of the agricultural GMOs is Roundup –tolerant while the remaining being BT-toxins producing GMOs. Following the statistics of the global health organization, products which are genetically modified (GM) on the international markets have passed the risk assessment test (Vendomois et al., 2009). Conclusion There are potential risks linked with the herbicides used in the GM crop cultivation whichindicate Roundup is toxic and could interfere with hormones (Vandenberg et al., 2012). According to animal feeding trial study which focused on studying the exposure to Monsanto Roundup herbicide and Monsanto’s GM maize, it was found that the exposure levels which were considered to be safe could cause tumors, multiple organ damage and premature death in rats and these findings could apply in humans (Seralini et al., 2012). It has also been concluded by some studies that there is a need for further studies due to metabolic modifications.Despite this, none of these studies considered a follow up that is detailed in the animals where there are at least 11 urine and blood samples (Snell et al., 2011). Seralini et al., (2012) carried out a detailed rat feeding research for two years where, there was a strict follow up of the potential health effects as well as their probable origins as a results of indirect and direct genetic modification consequences in the GMOs or as a result of formulated mixture of herbicide applied on the GMOs The public is becoming more aware that there is a real threat from the toxins derivedfromRoundup and the damage from using Roundup for several decades. According to Seralini et al. (2012), Roundup Ready crops have proven to cause serious implications on the health of humans. Consumption of Roundup Ready crops, have high biochemical levels that impose risks to the lives of consumers. Their short and long-term effects on humans and animals from Roundup ready crops cause negative health effects. It is advisable for organizations such as the World Health Organization, the Consumer Unions and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consider more restrictions on GMOs such as Roundup Ready crops where, companies such as Monsanto should be banned or restricted from manufacturing Roundup Ready crops and the herbicides used to spay various crops which cause high levels of glyphosate which leaves residues in soils, rivers and neighboring conventional andorganic crops that increase levels of AMPA. These levels continue to rise every year causing increased toxicological effects on humans and different animals. Furthermore, Round Ready crops are expensive and lethal for human consumption. Several recent studies as noted in the paper have proven that exposing rats to Roundup Ready crops and glyphosate results in serious health effects from the consumption of such products. Furthermore, research has proven Roundup Ready crops and glyphosate cause the growth of carcinogenic tumors in Sprague Dawley rats (Seralini et al., 2012). This led to the conclusion that these types of products have not proven that they are safe for consumption and the spraying of glyphosate on crops leave residues in our soils and cause negative health effects in animals and humans. References Arjo, G., Portero, M., Pinol, C., Vinas, J., Matias-Guiu, X., Capell, T., Christou, P. (2012). Plurality of opinion scientific discourse and pseudoscience in depth analysis of the Seralini et al.(2012) study claiming that Roundup Ready corn or the herbicide Roundup cause cancer in rats. Transgenic Research, 22, 255-267. doi:10.1007/s11248-013-9692-9 Baskaran, N., Manoharan, S., Balakrishnan, S., & Pugalendhi, P., 2010. Chemo preventive potential of ferulic acid in 7, 12-dimethylbenz[a]anthraceneinduced mammary carcinogenesis in Sprague-Dawley rats. 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