The Truth About Gmos

The Truth about GMOs

Over seventy percent of the crops in the U.S. are GMO crops. A GMO is a genetically modified organism. As opposed to natural selection, genetic modification is like mutation. This process can select individual genes from different species and mix them. The question is, is this safe? Yes and no. Genetic modification produces organisms that nature would never create itself. I am against the use of GMOs because of the potential rising issues to our environment and to our health.

There are undoubtedly many benefits to GMOs; otherwise we would not be using them. The reason we do this is to enhance the traits of certain organisms to make them better. Now we can have crops resistant to pesticides and immune to diseases. This allows the farming industry to be more financially stable, and easier for them maintain their crops. This impacts humans in a negative way by putting antibiotic genes into our bodies, which may be causing us to become resistant to antibiotics as well.

More testing and research is still very necessary on the health impacts of GMO foods, but studies have already shown potential hazards to the health of consumers. Such experiments have been performed and results are showing that Bt crops can in fact be harmful to the human body in the long-run by killing kidney cells. The Bt toxin (Bacillus thuriensis) is a poison that is encoded into crops to kill off bugs and insects. In moderation, it is not supposed to be harmful to humans or animals. However, the increasing usage of this toxin can have many drawbacks. Bt crops contribute to thirty-nine percent of GMO crops in the world. It is already illegal in several countries such as Hungary, Austria, Germany, Greece, and Luxembourg. The EU commission research team was skeptical of the statement "it is as safe as its conventional counterpart with respect to potential effects on human and animal health". This statement caused the researchers to wonder about the "overlooked" risks and aftermaths of the crops. If they are outlawed in other countries, it is for good reason. Why can't we be more cautious and favoring of our country's health by putting a ban on this GMO as well?

Allergies are one of the largest upcoming issues brought with the use of GMOs. Many people will develop allergic reactions, or encounter other health risks, to the added proteins and/or chemicals in GMO foods. For example, you could come across an allergy towards a food you never had issues with before. This is because of the proteins added into the food that you may be sensitive to. GMO corn crops contain a new protein that is the culprit of corn allergies to many humans. These GMO foods may become more nutritious and enriched with vitamins, and it could be seen as a wonderful thing for developing countries. It can potentially reduce vitamin deficiencies due to the enhanced crops. Our bodies aren't used to these excessive intakes of protein. We can only consume and digest a natural amount of vitamins and proteins before our bodies begin to counteract to them. Too much of a good thing will eventually lead to becoming a bad thing. We need to be more precautious though because this can not only negatively impact our country, but others as well; thus becoming our responsibility and fault for the health of these other countries' overall health.

GMO crops and animals can assist our environment in some positive ways. These genetic enhancements can lead to a massive decrease in chemical uses on plants and crops. Because