6-4 Project Part One: Planning Document Submission

SCI 200 Project Part One: Second Draft

Jennifer Moore

Applied Natural Science

SCI-200

Professor James Rogers

July 31, 2022

SCI 200 Project Part One: Second Draft

Introduction

I want to investigate whether GMOs have negative health implications on the consumers. It is important to understand the downside of consuming GMO products as far as health is concerned vis-à-vis the perceived advantages of these products. The results of the investigation will provide the basis as to whether more research is required to develop these products and make them safe for use, or whether they should be done away with completely. Most of the food stuffs in the market currently are genetically modified. Genetic modification has enhanced the productivity, as well as the ability for these products to survive harsh environmental conditions. GM foods also have a longer shelf-life. Consequently, they have enhanced food sufficiency and curbed malnutrition. However, the world is facing an unprecedented crisis characterized by a surge in lifestyle diseases. Could these diseases be as a result of the rise in consumption of GMOs?

I will use three scientific resources to investigate the issue. According to the article “No Scientific Consensus on GMO Safety” by Hilbeck et al., 2015, research on the health implications of GMO products has been hampered by so many factors. Due to insufficient research occasioned by funding constraints, some inconclusive recommendations have been made purporting that GMOs are safe for consumption; an idea heavily contested in the article. The second resource “Genetically engineered crops: experience and prospects” by Bian posits that, there is no sufficient evidence to link GMOs to lifestyle diseases. This is because it is difficult to model diseases occurrence from the consumption of a certain food. Moreover, conducting experiments on metabolites of GM plants is such a daunting task, and no conclusive evidence can be gathered. However, it is safe to say that GM plants have decreased diseases due to limiting the use of herbicides which pose dangers to human beings. The third resource “Genetically modified foods: A critical review of their promise and problems” by Zhang et al. This resource imbues that GMO foods result in health problems such as genetic hazards, allergies, and poisoning. However, it also acknowledges the fact that it is difficult to confirm some concerns as there is insufficient research on the safety of GMOs. Therefore, all the three resources acknowledge that research on the safety of GMO products is inconclusive and no assumptions should be made, hence the need to observe precautionary principles. These resources are significant in the investigation as they highlight the strides that have been made in refuting or affirming the safety of GMO products, and the challenges to this effect. I followed a 5-step process when searching for these sources: 1) Identify an issue in the natural science to investigate, 2) develop a question that the research will address, 3) determine what kind of resources are suitable for the issue, 4) choose the resources, and 5) analyze the resources and compile a reference list. I examined different factors when making choices. This includes reliability of the information, subject matter, credibility of information, bias or objectivity, and currency.

Based on my review, I would like to know whether GMO foods have any negative health implications on the consumers.

Audience

Physicians would be most interested on my issue as they handle patients who present different problems in hospital facilities each day. As such, the physicians can observe the different symptoms presented by the patients, as well as check the medical history of their patients, and ask some life style questions so as to piece together the impact of GMOs on human health. Studies indicate that poor product labelling and the lack of sufficient funding has hampered researchers from analyzing the health implications of GMO consumption. Therefore, using this approach where physicians conduct research from the patient log, we are able to save on cost as well acquire more reliable information on the safety of GMOs.

Message

To effectively tailor my message to the physicians, I would highlight a background of the problem of study, the challenges of conducting credible scientific, and the importance of involving physicians in this study. Since physicians interact with all manner of patients, and since they are learned people who rely on science in the delivery of their services, it will be very easy for them to understand scientific terminologies. To communicate with them more effectively, I will use relevant statistics, and scientific terminologies to package my message.

Principle

Gene manipulation is the main reason why GMOs are dangerous to human health. Manipulating of genes results in an interruption in the normal functioning of cells. Consequently, in order for the system to cope with the foreign gene, some mutations and readjustments take place. The consequences of gene expression are the potential development or aggravation of lifestyle diseases such as allergy, such as was experienced with star link maize (Zhang et al., 2016). Therefore, to identify and document similar connections of GMOs to ill-health, more research has to be conducted on various products and how they interrupt normal body functioning (Bian, 2021). This could be possible and more convenient if done from all health facilities by physicians.

Conclusion

GMOs promote lifestyle diseases by altering the genetic constitution of organisms. To ensure credible and well researched evidence to support the hypothesis, more research has to be conducted on the response of the human body and plant to genetic modification. The variabilities that result due to endogenic modifications and the resistance that is developed to bacteria and other drugs should be modelled and extrapolated to reflect the potential health implications on the human genetic composition (Zhang et al., 2016). To clear the anxiety and baseless assumptions harbored by the public, it is vital that conclusive research is conducted and published for public use.

References

Bian, D. D. Y. X. K. J. G. G. Z. M. Q. I. F. A. Y. I. (2021). Genetically engineered crops: experience and prospects(Chinese Edition). Science Press.

Hilbeck, A., Binimelis, R., Defarge, N., Steinbrecher, R., Székács, A., Wickson, F., Antoniou, M., Bereano, P. L., Clark, E. A., Hansen, M., Novotny, E., Heinemann, J., Meyer, H., Shiva, V., & Wynne, B. (2015). No scientific consensus on GMO safety. Environmental Sciences Europe, 27(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-014-0034-1

Zhang, C., Wohlhueter, R., & Zhang, H. (2016). Genetically modified foods: A critical review of their promise and problems. Food Science and Human Wellness, 5(3), 116–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fshw.2016.04.002