The Food And Drug Administration - 1302 Words

There are many aspects of the Food and Drug Administration’s current regulations that are of great concern to many. For instance, the regulation of GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, is a largely debated subject, especially in relation to genetically modified food, or GM food. As described by nongmoproject.com, â€Å"GMOs, or â€Å"genetically modified organisms,† are plants or animals that have been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria, viruses, or other plants and animals. These experimental combinations of genes from different species cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding.† Most of the American population may not even realize this, but according to nongmoproject.com: â€Å"In the U.S., GMOs are in as much as 80% of†¦show more content†¦The FDA does not require companies in the food industry to provide any labeling for their product if it contains GMOs. Many of the scientists that support genetic engineering claim that GM foods are safe for human consumption. But the practice of genetically engineering an organism in a lab to possess certain qualities is far from natural. There are several reasons that scientists are working to genetically engineer many plant and animal species. Scientists claim that they are genetically engineering many animals so that they have pharmacological qualities that may benefit human health. (Food-borne illnesses) There is a risk of transferring a disease from animals to humans. Much like the problems with using antibiotics in animals, engineering an animal to be resistant to certain viruses could result in super bugs or more antibiotic resistant viruses. Some animals are being genetically engineered so that they are better for marketing. Chickens, for example, are being engineered to grow larger breast. Cattle are being modified so that they grow faster and are even engineered so that they produce less pollution; supposedly a plus for the environment. Certain species o f fish, such as salmon, are being engineered so that they produce more of the healthy fat, omega-3. This may seem innocuous enough, but these animals are being genetically engineered in ways that would primarily benefit the farmers and