RunningHead:COMMUNITYPROBLEMFORGMORESEARCHPAPER

Ada Benjamin
University of Texas at El Paso
Community Problem for GMO Research Paper

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Organic farming is a very common problem in many communities due to the fact that people are
not educated or informed enough in this topic, and this is an important reason why some of them
are getting diagnosed with diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart problems, among many others.
All these, is because most people focus more on saving money rather than buying and/or eating
healthy food.People consuming GMO foods can also cause problems for the community because
the prices for healthier food options are going up every day and it is due to the easier access of
getting and buying GMO foods.
Firstly, what are GMO foods? GMO foods are living organisms whose genetic material has
been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering, or in short GE. This is
a relatively new science that creates unstable combinations of plants, animals, bacteria, and viral
genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.According to the
Non GMO project,all commercial GMOs are engineered to withstand a direct application of
fungicide and/or to produce an insecticide. Despite what biotech industry promises, none of the
GMO traits currently on the market offer increased yield, drought tolerance, enhanced nutrition,
or any other consumer benefit. This means that these engineered foods are actually produced to
resist all kinds of harmful things from getting into it. This is bad as pesticides among others are
used to kill, repel or control animals and or plants that are considered pests. Rather, these
modified food are actually pesticides themselves. This can be very harmful to the human body if
proper measure is not taken before consumption.
A growing body of evidence connects GMOs with health problems, environmental damages and
violation of farmers and consumers rights.GMO foods or genetically engineered foods are foods
produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA, using the methods of
genetic manufacturing.Organic foods are foods produced by organic farming. While this

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principle differs worldwide, organic agricultural in general features cultural, biological, and
unthinking practices that foster cycling of income, promote ecological sense of balance, and
conserve biodiversity.
People ask if there are health risks associated with consuming GMO products? Yes, there are lots
of problems and health risks from consuming GMO products. This is because it can damage
peoples health and its also something that is not natural to humans; therefore leading to diseases
such as cancer, diabetes, etc.It is so dangerous to the extent of countries like Australia and Japan
banning GMO production because of the effect that it can cause to humans. My suggestion
would be for people consuming GMO foods to really watch what they eat and eat more organic
foods because it has more benefits to the human body.
Do people prefer GMO foods or Organic foods? A lot of people probably dont even know the
difference between organic and GMO foods. Some people prefer GMO foods and some people
prefer organic foods. People prefer GMO food due to the face that they think they spend less
money; but buying whatever is GMO altered than going to the supermarket and specifically
choosing organic product is better for us. According to Ronnie Cummins in his article10 Reasons
Consumers Buy Organic, he said that the short answer is that organic food and farming, once
you look closely at the practices and hazards of so-called conventional food and farming, are
literally matters of life or death. Non-organic, chemical and GMO-intensive food (so-called
conventional food) is the number one cause of deteriorating public health among adults and
children, including obesity, diabetes, cancer, antibiotic resistant infections and heart disease.
How can people be aware of GMO foods? People can be more aware of GMO food by being
educated about food in general. Since my arrival to the United States, a lot of food are

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genetically modified which is very terrible. For this reason alone, it is more evident that
Americans suffer from things such as cancer than people back home due to the types of food
being consumed.
Are there environmental risks associated with growing GMO products?According to Marsh v.
Baxter case in Australia, there are many risks associated with the growing of GMO products.
What this case argues is that there is no assurance for the possibility of coexistence of GMO and
organic farming in Western Australia, it offers no protection for organic farmers,it places no
constraints on GMO farmers.For the organic sector, this case sets an unfortunate precedent
since it provides a case study prescription of how to contaminate an organic farm with GMO
material on the boundary of an organic farm, unwinding the organic fields instead of direct
harvesting the seeds, swathing the plants and letting them drop, and awaiting the next prevailing
wind to disperse them. Also according to TizianoGomiero et al. in their journal Environmental
Impact of Different Agricultural Management Practices: Conventional vs. Organic Agriculture,
Organic agriculture relies on a number of farming practices based on ecological cycles, and
aims at minimizing the environmental impact of the food industry, preserving the long term
sustainability of soil and reducing to a minimum the use of non renewable resources. (pg. 96)
Thedifferences between these imagesbelow, are that one chicken has been genetically modified,
while the other is just a natural looking chicken. From just mere looking at the chickens, the
natural chicken looks better, and healthier. The problem today though, is that some companies
are using organic labels on their GMO products in order to have better sales. There are lots of
points of view in the supporting of obligatory labeling of hereditarily customized organisms
(GMO). On the other hand, business lobbyists have been extremely successful in preventing any
GMO labeling legislation from life form enacted interested in law.

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Figure. 1 Pastured or free range V s factory chicken how important t is it ( 2045)

In conclusion, because consumers are not well educated about organic and GMO food, people
are dying more on a daily basis. It is important to research the possible health and environmental
benefits and risks of both GMO and organic foods.GMO foods can causecancer, obesity,
diabetes, among other deadly diseases. People consuming GMO causes problems for the
community because prices of healthier food optionsare going up and it is easier to spend less
money buying whatever is genetically altered than going to the supermarket and purchasing
healthier food options. This source helped me because it differentiated between organic foods
and conventional food that people eat these days. It also gives valid points on why eating organic
food is far more effective and better for us than modified foods. This source is also good because
it looks in depth into controversial topics people are talking about today in regards to GMO
foods and its effects on people, affected animals/ crops and even the society.

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References
Cummings, R. (2014). 10 Reasons Consumers Buy Organic. Eco Watch. Retrieved March 14,
2016, from http://ecowatch.com/2014/04/24/10-reasons-consumers-buy-organic/
GMO Facts. (2016). Retrieved March 14, 2016, from http://www.nongmoproject.org/learnmore/
GMO Foods: What You Need to Know - Consumer Reports Magazine. (2015). Retrieved March
14, 2016.
Gomiero, T. (n.d.). Environmental Impact of Different Agricultural Management Practices:
Conventional vs. Organic Agriculture.
Nutrition and healthy eating. (2014). Retrieved March 14, 2016, from
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/indepth/organic-food/art-20043880
Organic versus GMO farming: Contamination, what contamination? (2014). Journal of Organic
Systems, 9(1).
Tavernier, E. M., Onyango, B. M., & Pray, C. E. (2007). THE INFLUENCES OF PERCEIVED
FOOD ATTRIBUTES ON CONSUMER PREFERENCES FOR ORGANIC AND GMO
FOODS. Caribbean Agro-Economic Society, 148-155.
Pastured or free range V s factory chicken how important t is it ( 2045)

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