Sunday, November 17, 2019

Are GMOs safe?

Researchers, corporations and farmers use genetically modified organisms in an attempt to increase yields and profits. Genetically modified organisms are “organisms in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination.” The technology that allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another is known as, “modern biotechnology” or “gene technology.” Foods produced from using GM organisms are often referred to as GM foods. For example, GM foods include crops such as cotton, rice, soya, and maize. Not only are GM foods unhealthy to consume, but the GMO, overall, contains many disadvantages. Jane Brody, and author from The New York Times, states that "farmers and agricultural scientists have been genetically engineering the foods we eat for centuries through breeding programs that result in large and largely uncontrolled exchanges of genetic material(Brody).

                                          

To begin, genetically modified organisms should not be consumed in any circumstance. GM foods contain the potential to provoke allergic reaction, gene transfer and also outcrossing. "For many decades, in addition to traditional crossbreeding, agricultural scientists have used radiation and chemicals to induce gene mutations in edible crops in attempts to achieve desired characteristics"(Brody).Therefore, GMO has a huge impact on a person’s health and safety. These direct health effects coming from the GMO, involving toxicity, carry nutritional effects associated with genetic modification. This means that any “unwanted” effects could actually result from the gene insertion. Not only do GMOs affect individuals, but the GMO also carries an impact on the society. Considering the GMO could have the ability to potentially introduce the engineered genes into wild populations, raised many concerns in society. In having the ability to potentially introduce engineered genes to the population, could result in a reduction in the spectrum of other plants. This would lead to the loss of biodiversity and an increased use of chemicals in agriculture. Overall, it is clear that the GMO has a negative impact on both humans and the society as a whole.


5 comments:

  1. Great article to shared! I agree with you that currently there are mixed expectations about the the impact of GMO products. Hopefully in the future there would be more truth behind about if GMO is safe. I feel like almost 90% of everything we consumed are GMO. For examples, corn and soybean.

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  2. Emily,
    It is scary to think that in all our foods there's substances that are unhealthy to consume. Lately, I have been very interested in this concept of GMO’s and mostly buy things with the little stamp of “NON GMO” on the front of it. It is a sad reality that these products are usually higher in price, but that is fine by me if that will help me be healthier in the long run. Imagine how Cheetos are made and how many modified substances are in them…. It is sickening to think about. It is also scary to think how out of the loop people are about this topic. Many do not even realize what they are consuming.
    Thank you.
    -Jennifer Ortiz

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  3. Gene insertion and mutations in our foods is a scary concept to fathom. Along with the unknown effects of these gene mutations, the amount of pesticides farmers use to preserve these genetically modified crops is not only more than the average contains, it is equally just as concerning and harmful to our health.I think it is essential that we consume food that are organic with no genetically modified components.

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  4. There is a lot of stigma regarding GMO's in our food nowadays. Though it is usually though to have negative impacts to humans and in our environment, most of what we eat is in fact genetically modified to either satisfy our palates, increase yield of a certain crop, increase nutritional value of a certain crop, etc. I do not think that all GMO's are bad, but I do not think they are all good either. I feel like there should be more research done on the long term effects of GMO's in humans; but since GMO's are fairly recent, I believe there isn't as much research done yet.

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  5. I went to vocational school for child care and we learn about the harmful effects about GMOs. It is almost impossible to avoid fully and clearly is a problem in society. We learned that GMOs also drastically effect children and there's a lot of studies showing this.

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