Respond to at least two of your classmates

Leslie Shields

Humans have been searching for ways to develop and increase its food production for centuries. One of the ways that is very controversial now is genetically modified crops. Today “agricultural biotechnology employs the modern tools of genetic engineering to reduce uncertainty and breeding time and to transfer traits from more distantly related plants.” (Barrows, Sexton & Zilberman, 2012, pg 99). What does this mean for us? It means that we have crops that are easier and less expensive to produce. With the dramatic changes in the environment over the last few years these crops are more likely to thrive in harsh conditions. Scientist argue that the crops are safe and healthier than the original, while environmentalist would argue that we do not know the long term effects that the genetic modifications can have on the population over time.

               “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a number of steroid hormone drugs for use in beef cattle and sheep, including natural estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and their synthetic versions. These drugs increase the animals’ growth rate and the efficiency by which they convert the feed they eat into meat” (FDA, 2014). This is another example of a controversial method to increase our food source. While farmers like it because it means livestock that is meatier and better milk producers, consumers are concerned about the effects that the steroids will have on the human population consuming it. Many will argue that the steroids are causing young boys to become more aggressive and girls are menstruating at a younger age due to the amount of the steroids that are still found in the meat and milk that is produced.

I think that these changes are very harmful to the environment and our health because we do not understand the long term effects that the steroids combined with the modified crops will have on these animals. We also do not know if our water supply could have been negatively affected due to the waste produce by the animals. Or why we are seeing more children with food allergies that ever before.

Reference:

Barrows, G. Sexton, S. & Zilberman, D (2012) Agricultural Biotechnology: The Promise and Prospects of Genetically Modified Crops. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 28(1), pg. 99-120. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a627351e-21a7-44de-a092-a6e002e9ced8%40sessionmgr111&vid=2&hid=103Links to an external site.

FDA,U.S. Food and Drug Administration.(2014) Steroid Hormone Implants Used for Growth in Food-Producing Animals. Retrieved from http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/ProductSafetyInformation/ucm055436.htmLinks to an external site.

Betty Reighard

When it comes to farming in the United States, its all over depending on what type of farms you’re looking for. You can have Organic farms or even dairy farms; there is all kinds of different types of farms that help us as people to survive every day. We need these types of farms to function to get our vegetables and to get our milk and other types of nutrients. When looking up permaculture farming, this shows us about organic farming, this type of farming is becoming very popular in the United States with World Wide Organic Stores opening up all over to sell there product to give us people an option of eating healthier without all of the additives that you get from regular crop growing. “Use of prunings reduces the need for composting and hauling manures and mulches, thereby increasing the efficiency by which organic material is supplied to the soil that supports the economic crop” ( C.F. 2004).

People talk about what our animals are given while they are at farms if they have antibodies in them then processed. There has been many different articles about our chickens having antibodies or our cows getting this then in turn once they are slaughtered then given to the public to eat. There is an ongoing battle about whether this is bad for us or what we can do to start preventing animals that are going to be used to food to be given antibiotics. When having these types of farms with animals, there can be chemicals released that can “ include ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, malodorous vapors, and particles contaminated with a wide range of microorganisms.” (Avery 2007) They don’t know the effects on health risk for this being air-borne for humans.

Reference:

Avery Rachel, Bonlokke Jakob, Chrischilles Elizabeth, Dosman James, Duchaine Caroline, Deederik Dick, Kline Joel, Kirkhorn Steven, Kulhankova Katarina, Merchant James, Sigsgaard Torben, Thorne Peter. (2007) Health Effects of Airborne exposures from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Environmental Health Perspectives (Vol 115) P298-302

C.F. Jordan, (2004) Organic Farming and agroforestry: Alleycropping for mulch production for organic farms of southeastern United States. Agroforestry system ( Vol61-62) PP 77