Link: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/02/roundup_ready_crops_to_blame_for_animal_miscarriages.php?campaign=th_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+treehuggersite+%28Treehugger%29Author: By Colleen Vanderlinden 2.22.11
Summary: Some people are still disagreeing with the recent approval of Genetically Modified Organisms alfalfa and sugar beets. Researchers are now saying that Roundup Ready GE crops contain an organism that causes miscarriages in farm animals. This new organism was detected after researchers used a 36,000X microscope, it is about the size of a virus. This can cause disease in both plants and animals. Professor Don M. Huber of Purdue University, he penned a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging the dangers of this organism, how it was discovered, and his thoughts about what should be done. Vilsack stated, “We request USDA's participation in a multi-agency investigation, and an immediate moratorium on the deregulation of RR crops until the causal/predisposing relationship with glyphosate and/or RR plants can be ruled out as a threat to crop and animal production and human health.” If it is causing miscarriages in animals then, what is it doing to us?
Response: This is sort of alarming, if this is the effect the GMO alfalfa and sugar beets are having on animals, what is it going to do with us. With this new research we need to do something about it. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack needs to look in greater depth into this new discovery. Not only look into the animal side effects, but the human as well. If we are eating the animals the alfalfa and sugar beets are effecting there has to be something that is getting transferred to us. After learning about GMO’s in class I did not really know my exact opinion of them, but now reading this I am very skeptical of how these GE crops work. There has to be some long term side effect that we haven’t seen, but will come up eventually.
Questions:
- Does GMO’s have any other effects on animals other than miscarriages?
- How do GMO’s effect humans?
- Is the use of GE crops being monitored?
- Who was the first person to discover how to use and engineer GMO's?
- Why do we need GMO's?
reflection:When we orginally learned about GMOS in class I accepted them as somthing we needed to properly run our soictey. However now reading that they can cause miscarriges I beleive that these specfic GMOS should be rcalleed and improved. If there is a way to back them safer we should look into this to see if we can no only give the U.S somthing they need. But somthing that is safe as well.
ReplyDeleteas to answer question 5) GMOS make the money we spend on food a lot less. The GMOS make it possible to grow the maxime amount of food in a small place at really cheap prices. ALong with the fact that they create jobs as well as provide people with food. Because as much as we like organic food it would be incredibly expesive to eat all organic.
I was also suprised by these finding on GMOs. However, instead of simply shutting down GE farms and banning GMOs I think that the tainted crops can be fixed. If the problem can caused by genetic engineering then it can probably be fixed by the same method. Sure, GMOs have drawbacks, but just because there is some problems with some crop doesn't mean all GE crops are bad. GE foods are still relatively new and with enough trust overtime they can become perfect.
ReplyDeleteMore questions
1. How much do GMOs affect the miscarridge rate?
2. How long have GMOs been around?
3. Can this harmful gene be taken away by more genetic engineering?
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ReplyDeleteI think that this is one of the major disadvantages of GMO's. Researchers have already found multiple problems, and there are soon to be more discovered. Yes, it can provide great economic success, but at what cost to the environment. Humans have done way too many things to hurt the environment in order to make a profit, but most of those needs, such as housing or oil, were mandatory and necessary for survival in today's age. GMO's also hurt the environment, but it is possible to avoid using them.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the previous article because they both focus on the debate on GMO's and the dangers of them. I'm not entirely sure, but I think this article has a direct link to the previous article, so that also seemed like a strong connection.
Questions:
1. What kinds of GMO's do we buy from our supermarkets?
2. Are there any other benefits to GMO's besides a profit? (Not in comparison to family farms)
3. What would have to happen to officially ban GMO's?
I think that the government should allow farmers to grow genetically modified plants. What happens in animals does not always happen to humans. If they have to use a 36,000X microscope to find the virus, then it probably will not do any harm to humans if it is monitored closely. I think that farmers should still be allowed to grow Genetically Modified sugar beets and alfalfa. I can relate to this because in America, most people are trying to just get by on any money that they make. Telling farmers that they have to stop doing what their doing would hurt them and their famalies
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
Does what happens to animals always happen to humans?
What was the first Genetically Modified Organism?
Why would the government pass a law that would not be safe for humans?