Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
agri-business.industry.and.farming..The.introduction.of.GM.foods.has.the.poten-
tial.to.decrease.the.prices.to.consumers.for.groceries.
Environmental Impact
The. effects. of. genetic. modiication. on. the. environment. are. largely. unknown..
Bioengineered. insect. resistance. has. reduced. farmers'. applications. of. environ-
mentally. hazardous. insecticides.. More. studies. are. occurring. to. help. assess. the.
impact.of.bioengineered.plants.and.organisms.on.the.environment..A.couple.of.
studies.reported.harm.to.Monarch.butterlies.from.GM.crops,.but.other.scientists.
were.not.able.to.recreate.the.results..The.possibility.of.insects.growing.resistant.
to.GM.crops.is.a.legitimate.concern.
APPENDIX B: INFORMATION INJECTED INTO THE 2007 DES
MOINES AND HARRISBURG EXPERIMENTS
A..The.following.is.a.collection.of.statements.and.information.on.genetic.modiica-
tion.from.Greenpeace,.a.leading.environmental.group.
General Information
Genetic. modiication. takes. genes. from. one. organism. and. places. them. into.
another.. The. process. lets. scientists. manipulate. genes. in. an. unnatural. way..
Inadequate.safety.testing.of.GM.plants.and.food.products.has.occurred..Humans.
and.the.Earth.are.being.used.as.guinea.pigs.for.testing.whether.“Frankenfoods”.
are.safe..GM.foods.should.be.banned.because.their.effect.on.consumers.and.the.
environment.is.unknown.and.potentially.catastrophic!.Genetic.modiication.is.
one.of.the.most.risky.things.being.done.to.your.food.sources.today.and.should.
be.stopped.before.more.damage.is.done.
Scientiic Impact
All. genetic. modiications. of. plants. are. risky.. All. GM. techniques. are. relatively.
new. and. no. one. can. guarantee. that. consumers. or. the. environment. will. not. be.
harmed..The.biggest.potential.hazard.of.GM.foods.is.unknown.
Human Impact
GM.foods.could.pose.serious.risks.to.human.health..Some.foods.contain.aller-
gens,.and.the.potential.exists.for.allergens.to.be.transferred.into.a.GM.food.prod-
uct. that. no. one. would. suspect.. For. example,. if. the. genes. from. a. peanut. were.
transferred.into.a.tomato,.and.someone.who.is.allergic.to.peanuts.eats.this.GM.
tomato,.he.could.display.a.peanut.allergy.
Another.problem.with.transgenic.foods.is.a.moral.issue..Many.GM.techniques.
transfer.genes.across.species..We.believe.it.is.morally.wrong.to.alter.life.forms.on.
such.a.fundamental.level.
Financial Impact
GM.foods.are.being.pushed.onto.consumers.by.big.businesses.which.only.care.
about.their.own.proits.and.ignore.possible.negative.side.effects..These.groups.are.
actually.patenting.new.life.forms.they.create.with.plans.to.sell.for.proits..Studies.
have.shown.that.GM.crops.may.even.get.lower.yields.than.conventional.crops.
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