Genetically Modified Organisms – DNA Engineering

Engineered from DNA of different species of plant, animal, bacterial, and viral genes. Explore this infographic prepared by Nurse Degree to learn potential harmful effects by these Genetically Modified Organisms.

Source: GMOs: The Walking Dead of the Food Industry

• Global Area of GMO crops:170.1 million hectares [2]
• Area of Alaska: 171.7 million hectares [3]
• 70: percentage of items in American food stores containing GMOs [4]
• 0: percentage of items in American food stores containing GMOs prior to 1996 [5]
• 50: nations (including all EU countries) restricting or banning GMO production/sales [6]
• In the US: FDA ruled GMOs not significantly different from naturally occurring foods
• Approval based on studies conducted by GMO manufacturers themselves [6]
• 87: percentage of consumers who want foods containing GMOs to be labeled
• 53: percentage of Americans who would refuse to buy genetically modified food
• 80: percentage of conventionally processed food containing GMOs in the US – labeling not required
• GMOs are manufactured for herbicide tolerance, particularly to glyphosate (RoundUp). Some negative effects:
• Glyphosate builds up in the soil, contaminating it. [7]
• Weeds resistant to glyphosate develop, spawning super weeds. [7]
• 1: breeds of weeds resistant to glyphosate (ryegrass found in Australia) prior to 2010
• 6: US states where glyphosate-resistant weeds have been reported in the past three years [8]
• 1500%: increase in herbicide production since GMOs introduced [7]
• Signing of “Monsanto Protection Act” prevents government restrictions on GMO food found to cause health risks [6]
• One corn GMO type threatened to wipe out Monarch butterfly larvae by contaminating milkweed [8]
• “None of the genetically modified food crops currently on the market offer benefits to consumers in terms of price, nutrition, or new products.” Ucsusa.org [8]
• Over 40 genetically modified crops are allowed to be sold in the US. [8]
• GMOs make it possible for allergens in one food type to emerge in a completely different species. [8]
• GMOs found to transfer genetically altered DNA into the DNA of bacteria living in the human stomach, reproducing indefinitely. [9]
• GMOs can contaminate existing species being grown organically. [9]
• GMO producers can actually sue farmers whose crops are infected by GMO contaminates for intellectual property theft. [9]
• As evidenced by the percentage of crops containing GMOs, producers like Monsanto have a virtual monopoly on the US farming industry. [10]

Top foods containing GMOs

• Sugar Beets (95% of US crop)
• Soy (94% of US crop)
• Canola (90% of US crop)
• Cotton (90% of US crop)
• Corn (88% of US crop) [9]

Sources

• [1] http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/what-is-gmo
• [2] http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/44/executivesummary/pdf/Brief%2044%20-%20Executive%20Summary%20-%20English.pdf
• [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_area
• [4] http://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelhennessey/2012/11/03/gmo-food-debate-in-the-national-spotlight
• [5] http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2013/02/gmo-farming-crops-more-popular-than-ever-world-charts
• [6] http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/
• [7] http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/health/gmo-toxicity-affects-animals-plants-and-soil-336742.html
• [8] http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/our-failing-food-system/genetic-engineering/environmental-effects-of.html#monarch
• [9] http://www.naturalnews.com/038792_GMO_toxicity_digestion_cancer.html
• [10] http://grist.org/food/monsanto-flirts-with-disaster-owns-the-world-anyway/