Roundup Ready Crops Cause Adverse Health Effects - Research Paper Example

Roundup Ready crops cause adverse health effects In this research, I will represent the viewpoints who attempted to provethe toxicity of the GM products. My thesis statement is that Roundup Ready crops have serious health implications on the health of humans and animals. Based on the study, it is noteworthy that current researchers justifying the thesis. The researchers found that the Monsanto’s Roundup and Resistant corn can be toxic in rats. It reveals that substance is also lethal to the humanity since the rats digestion system is the same as the system of man. The mice formed the surrogate for human toxicity making pharmaceutical, agricultural, and household approval test on rats. The consumption of GM maize and the herbicide Roundup seriously influence human health. Monsanto the Roundup Ready crops manufacturing corporation maintains that the Roundup –Resistant corn is safe as the conventional non-GM food (Vendomois, 2014). The paper outlines viewpoints on genetically modified crops and their acceptance to the society. The development of the genetically modified products increases with the existence of Roundup Ready crops that are resistant to the herbicide containing glyphosate. Glyphosate performs the killing of the weeds affecting the Roundup crops in the fields being friendly to the roundup plant and killing the other foliage. The GM products seem to challenge the traditional organic foods because of existing confusion in differentiating the original natural foods and GM in the market facilities. The health effect of the GM of Roundup Ready crops reflects from the research conducted with rats in a span of two years. The female rats died most and prematurely than their male counterparts ailing from the tumor based complications. Research revealed the toxicity rate of glyphosate material used in manufacturing the Roundup Ready crops as a potent herbicide. The research further provides a description of nutritional and elemental composition including residues of herbicides and pesticides of various soybeans from Iowa State, America. The soy samples sub-divided into three categories for like, the genetically modified glyphosate tolerant soy (GM) soy, unmodified soy cultivated using conventional chemical cultivation régime. The last batch was the unmodified soy grown using the organic farming regime. The feedback was that organic soybeans showed the healthiest nutritional profile with more sugars like glucose, fructose, sucrose, and maltose. Non-GM soybeans contained less fat concentration and total omega-6 fatty acids than both conventional and GM-soy. The GM-soy beans contained high residues of glyphosate and AMPA with mean 3.3 and 5.7mg/kg respectively. The conventional and organic soybean batches contained none of the agrochemicals. The consumers sought after the organic soybeans than the GM products because of the controversies surrounding the GM products. In the 1980s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration accredited GMOs as safe. There was little research conducted to ascertain the health effects of GMOs. According to Philophot (2012), the emergence of genetically engineered farms in 1996 contributed to the expansion of subsidized crops in America. Subsequently, it promoted the increased production of corns, soy, and cotton. Besides, the production of sugar beets that are genetically modified provided the population with an increase of variety of additives to choose for food manufacturers. Besides their use in food manufacturing, additives were used in the meat industry. The additives were equally applicable in the manufacture of drinks. That implied that a considerable population of U.S. citizens consumed GMOs. According to diverse body of research, roundup crops have had detrimental implications on public health. There are real harm to both humans and animals as supported by researchers. According to Seralini et al. (2013), NK603 Roundup-tolerant genetically modified (GM) have proved to cause serious implications on the health of humans. Consumption of NK603 maize, for instance, has high biochemical levels that may impose risk to the lives of consumers. Besides their short-term implications, GMOs have long-term effects on humans and animals. Roundup ready crops, therefore, cause negative health effect For normal cultivation and the elimination of the unwarranted foliage, the Roundup Ready crops are implemented to promote the cultivation in the field (Seralini et al., 2009). The crops are resistant to glyphosate, which is incorporated by farmers to eliminate weeds from their fields during the normal cultivation sessions. Initial Roundup Ready crops developed in 1996 because of the development of genetically modified soybeans that are resistant to the herbicide Roundup (Defrancesco, 2013). The roundup ready crops were developed to enable farmers control excesses weed from their fields. Because of the resistance of new plants to the herbicide Roundup, it can be used in the fields to eliminate the unwanted foliage affecting the crops. The mostly available Roundup Ready crops include cotton, canola, alfalfa, corn, soy, and sorghum, with wheat under development (Frisvold et al., 2010). Roundup Ready crops seeds are uniquely called the terminator seeds because the plants produced from the Roundup-ready seeds are sterile and is inapplicable in farming, again. Farmers purchase of the Roundup seeds annually from the manufacturer Monsanto. The farmers cannot reuse their best seeds because of the sterility of the seeds making them wait for the latest strain of seeds. The generation of the new genetically modified crop would lead to the challenging effect of the introduction of new organisms to the environment that might be detrimental and harmful to human health. The ultimate evolution of the new chemicals leads to the restructuring of every encounter of the human therefore influencing the well-being of individuals. The development of the new herbicide and the continuous use of the chemicals in the field would culminate in the development of resistant foliage. The soil also would create some new generations of organisms and pest that are detrimental to the generated crops and the crops in general. It has contributed to the investment of the government organizations to the research developments to discover whether the crops are risky or safer to eat (Benbrook, 2012). The environmental protection agency (EPA), work in collaboration with animal and plant health inspection service (APHIS) to determine if crops are safe to grow and consume. The research has revealed that the ingredient used in the production of the Roundup Ready crop called the glyphosate can accumulate and persist in the soil for decades (Owen & Boerboom, 2006). The persistence would interfere with the soil biological structure changing the soil PH, clay content, and the abortion rate. The glyphosate reduces the beneficial microorganisms in the soil 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 the concentration of the glyphosate in the soil causing the problems. The effect of the GM products on human health is unpredictable, and the biggest threat is the presence of the unique allergens in the GM food supply. Since human being response to allergens is similar to whether they move 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). All the research institutions conducting conventional studies on the GM that are affiliated to GM industry support the GM crops and products. Genetically improvised foods have the high probability of causing allergenic reactions proven by the scientists on mice. The main pesticide of the world, Roundup invokes significant hepatorenal deficiencies and the sex- dependent hormonal effect like mammary tumors from very low environmental levels. The Roundup formulations and the Roundup tolerant genetically modified products are sources of endocrine disruptors, and their provision of health is drastically low. About 80 percent of the agricultural GMOs are Roundup –tolerant ones 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 (Vendamois et al., 2012). The confirmation is not yet because most of the research companies are affiliated to GM industry thereby acting on interests of the companies. There are potential risks linked with the herbicides used in the GM crop cultivation indicating that Roundup is toxic and could interfere with hormones. The BT maize leaves or grain could be risky to aquatic life by toxins penetrating watercourses causing toxins accumulate in organisms producing toxic effect. Critics have complained of the adverse effects reported from animals or the human population of the United States (Morris et al, 2012). The GM organism’s exposure to the environment is not allowed since it leads to genetic modification. The genetic engineering inserts DNA sequences into the plants genome in a crude way leading to the unplanned deletion of DNA strands of a plant. The unique genetic material fragments are detected in commercial GM such as soya and MON810. The genetically modified foods are potential to produce unintended novel proteins raising the concerns about there potential causes of allergies. According to test of GM products in the animal feeding trial studying the exposure to Monsanto Roundup herbicide and Monsanto’s NK603 Roundup-resistant genetically modified corn. It was found that exposure levels considered safe could cause tumor, multiple organ damage and premature death in rats and that could apply to humans. Another problem posed by the genetically modified crops such as the Roundup Ready to use crops is the development of the weeds and other foliages, which are Roundup resistant (glyphosate).Since many farmers become so much dependent on the herbicide Roundup and the Roundup crops it leads to the development a resistant ragweed. It is very hard on the famers to keep on shifting between the usages of different types of Roundups to limit the résistance. The too much use of the herbicide glyphosate affects the reproductive fertility (Brokaw & Arax, 1997). The identity preservation in the field is not easy because of the potential cross-pollination of the genetically modified seeds and the non-GM crops. It is stressful to the farmers who want to identify with the non-GM or organic crops. There is evidence that such crosspollination take place secretly affecting the yield of the crops internationally affecting the economic development. The mixing between the genetically modified crops and the organic has been discovered confirming the signs of multiple pollination activity. The test of successful farming magazine revealed the presence of cross-pollination between the corn and the soybean crops. There is a controversy of liability of the non-GM farmers and the GM crops farmers over the responsibility of the cross-pollination. The famers using the GM crops use the chemical pesticides encroaching into their neighbors lands thereby influencing the yield production of their fellow farmers. Both the issues of the pollen drift from the fields of the GM farmers to the non-GM farmer and pesticides use is attributed to negligence (Domingo, 2007). There is differentiation problem of the products from genetically modification areas and the ones from the non-genetically motivated fields. Agricultural trading markets are perfect in the distinction between the GM crops and the traditional crops. The transfer of soybeans and the corn from one location to another is very difficult because of lack of surety of originality. The preservation of the agricultural crops integrity is very vital because there are some companies that are not approved to sell the crops for consumption. For example, the distribution of the star link corn in taco shell distributed through a national company without approval for human consumption. The differentiation of the GM oriented crops and the organic or the non-genetically modified plant is a significant problem in influencing the Agricultural industry. The failure in the certification of most of the GM products and the non-GM may lead to the global devaluing of Agricultural product promoting the economic surge. The Roundup Ready seeds have the technology called the terminator technology that does not support the reuse of the crops harvested for reproduction. The seeds from the previous productions get sterile since they cannot produce other yields like the mother seeds. The farmers always purchase the seeds from the Monsanto for every subsequent planting session preventing the farmer from using their best seeds. There is another argument that the terminator technology is improvised to limit and prevent the escalation of glyphosate (Roundup) resistance to other species. The farmers claim that the Roundup Ready crops are just benefiting great companies like the Monsanto. The issue emanates because of buying everything concerning the GM motivated from the Monsanto Company including seeds and herbicides. The buying of all the required materials from Monsanto is like double profiting the corporation while Monsanto view it as scrapping famine out of the world. Others think it is a way of making much profit from the individuals. Another influence of biotechnology is the impact of the genetically modified (GM) seeds and crops to other beneficial organisms. The study reveals that a gene contained in BT corn can be lethal to the larvae of a monarch butterfly windblown onto milkweed leaves. The outcome is that the impact of BT corn when genetically placed in the grain is less damaging to non-target insect population than spraying pesticides (Frisvold et al., 2010). The multinational company concerned in the manufacturing the GM related materials might pride in the success of addressing global food scarcity by developing Roundup crops. However, there is the slight revelation that the production of the GM food products has solved the global food problems. The feedbacks of the research performed by the New Soil Association in April 2008 declared GM crops not to increase production than non-genetically modified crops. Most genetically modified products from the Roundup Ready crops are modified to be pesticide and herbicide resistant than directly increasing the yield of the crop. The issue has invoked controversy on the importance of Roundup Ready crops if it does not support the farmer’s interest in the improvement of crops production. Then it is a ploy only to benefit the Roundup Ready Crops industry the Monsanto. It would create more damages to the society than good physically and economically because the farmers spend much money buying expensive materials. Many argue that the Roundup Ready crops do not benefit the consumers but have beneficial returns to the corporation. The GM farmers have to purchase the seeds including herbicides from the Monsanto every year making the company richer turning the farmers to business tools (Barfoot & Brookes, 2012). There is controversy over the ingenuity of the genetically engineered products mainly because of the toxicity of the herbicide Roundup. Currently, there is the regulation of glyphosate amount in drinking water by EPA citing that glyphosate in small concentrations is safe for human consumption. However, there is a notion that most farmers overuse the chemical on their crops increasing levels of concentration in the plant rendering it unsafe for use. The introduction of new DNA into the food supply poses a significant concern for the transgenic organisms in which genes from an organism and moves to another. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service performs safety evaluation of Roundup crops to regulate the introduction of GM organisms relatively the plant pest (Bonny, 2011). To market the genetically modified products one must seek the authority by applying for the biotechnology permit to market the genetically manufactured plants. Any organism considered a pest is limited and cannot sell within the United States and its environs. Anybody has the right to deregulate the plant pest by submitting a petition to the relevant authorities. If anyone is allergic to a particular organism used genetically to modification another product, he still becomes allergic to the byproduct of the previous plant. For example, the soybeans genetically engineered to contain Brazil nuts where the consumer uses soybeans without knowing the presence of Brazil nuts gene triggering an allergy (Primicerio et al., 2014). Since the herbicide glyphosate is the most used herbicide internationally with a production of about 620,000 tons in 2008.The production of the soybeans globally in 2011 was 251.5 million Metric tons with the United States 33 percent, Argentina 19 percent, and Brazil 29 percent. The first generation glyphosate-tolerant GM-soy plant produced and patented by Monsanto Company is genetically modified to withstand glyphosate related herbicides during the entire growth period (Gianessi & Carpenter, 1999). Herbicide tolerant GM plants the herbicide co-techno forms the vital part of the production system and is always used by farmers. The residues of herbicides and their metabolites commonly accumulate in the final products increasing the toxicity of the products. For confirmation of the issue, the study of the 31 samples, of soybean grown within a particular area in the Iowa in the US were collected for analysis. The influence of agricultural practice on glyphosate residues, the nutritional composition of the ready to consume soybeans, and the analysis of various AMPA pesticide compounds (Entine, 2012 )The discovery was that GM soybeans contain high levels of glyphosate and AMPA because of the continuous spraying of the plant with glyphosate related herbicide. Conventional soybeans contain low residue levels of glyphosate AMPA because of pre- planting applications. Since the use of chemicals and 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. The argument was proven wrong after 90 days trials experiments on the rats. The researchers fed ten groups of rats a diet containing Roundup –resistant GM corn and water containing Roundups at permitted levels for 24 months (Pilu, 2013). The result was that the rats died prematurely than their counterparts fed on a standard diet. The result was that 50 percent of male rats and 70 percent of females died prematurely with cancer related ailments. The deduction was that was the GM products might be lethal for human consumption as they are to rats (Landau, 2012). The research was the one of its kind to reveal and publish the impacts of GM products and the herbicide Roundup on rats. Because of the growth of cancerous tumors in the mice, it resolved that the GM products have extreme effects on human health negatively. There have been recent debates on the viability of the U.S. government to ban GMOs as a remedy to the health effects of the products. In others areas such as France, Italy, and Japan, the governments have laws that prohibit the use of GMOs because of the risks that the pose on consumers, who are citizens. Besides, their negative effects on the humans and animals, GMOs have extensive effects on the environment. In January 2015, the Russian government approved a policy that would completely ban the consumption of GMOs. Further, the Russian government approved that the legislation would be important to limit the importation of biotech products in the country. Proponents of the debate have approved proposals that the U.S. should ban the sale and consumption of GMOs. According to the research, the GM products have unique Pathophysiological profiles underlining the reasons for their systematic evaluation and analysis for their safety and regulations. Since the GM products have both detrimental and beneficial factors to some extent, it would be very difficult to comment concerning the subchronic toxic effect for the GM foods. The Roundup Ready crops produce the GM foods chemically proven for human consumption, but there is controversy over glyphosate herbicide used by GM products farmers. The substance is lethal and changes the structure of the soil in it is applied in the fields. The genetically modified crops have sterile seeds, hence cannot be replanted making the farmers spend over on new purchase every planting period. The generation of the GM products influences the production and the marketing of the traditional organic foods (Rohn, 2014). The marketing problem is in the market facilities where the devaluation of the traditional products is confused for the GM products. It is advisable for WHO organization to decree on scrapping off GM food manufacturing by terminating companies such as Monsanto that promotes the development of glyphosate. The glyphosate an ingredient used in the manufacture of the Roundup Ready crops because they have proved expensive and lethal for human consumption. According to a recent research, there is proof that exposing rats to GMOs and herbicide round up has a serious effect on the health of a mouse. Genetically modified corns, for instance, cause the growth of tumors in mouse. GMOs, therefore, have not proven safe for consumption. References Arax, M., & Brokaw, J. (1997). No way around Roundup. Mother Jones, 22(1), 40-41. Benbrook, C. M. (2012). Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the US--the first sixteen years. Environmental Sciences Europe, 24(1), 1-13. 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(2012). Pesticides and Your Body. The Rosen Publishing Group. Pilu, S. R. (2013). Long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 53. Rohn, J. (2014). GMO sabotage and other tales. Retrieved April 9, 2015 from http://www.lablit.com/article/833 Séralini, G. E., Clair, E., Mesnage, R., Gress, S., Defarge, N., Malatesta, M., & de Vendômois, J. S. (2014). Republished study: long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. Environmental Sciences Europe, 26(1), 14. Séralini, G. E., Clair, E., Mesnage, R., Gress, S., Defarge, N., Malatesta, M & De Vendômois, J. S. (2012). RETRACTED: Long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. Food and chemical toxicology, 50(11), 4221-423 Read More