More and more people are now eating what is called genetically modified food (or GM food). GM foods are created by changing their DNA around with DNA from other sources by genetic engineering. By doing this, scientists are able to control how the food grows, what’s in the food, and what they can be resistant to in able to satisfy the human population. Some examples of GM foods in our stores now are rapeseed, honey, cotton, rice, soybean, sugar cane, tomatoes, corn, sweet corn, canola, potatoes, flax, papaya, squash, red-hearted chicory, cotton seed oil, tobacco, meat, peas, vegetable oil, sugar beets, dairy products, and vitamins. GM foods are in a constant tug-a-war with whether or not they are healthy for us and our environment. People want the GM food, but at the same time, they don’t want it because of some of the consequences. Here are some pros and cons of GM foods.
Scientists, as well as Robert Shapiro who is CEO of the Monsanto Corporation, believe that GM food “represents a potentially sustainable solution to the issue of feeding people.” Our human population in the world is constantly increasing and is becoming an issue, and they believe that GM food is the solution. GM food grows faster and stronger than ordinary food, and they can grow in almost any area because they are salt resistant. There is also no irrigation system needed which makes the land less damaged and able to hold more water. You don’t need as much land as you normally would with ordinary farming because they are guaranteed to grow well, and the use of no-till farming helps as well. There is less erosion and runoff as a result of GM foods and no-till farming. The DNA is altered so that they are also resistant to pesticides and diseases which kill off the plants and harm us if we consume them. There are some GM foods that are called “BT” plants which kill the bugs that eat the plants. You also don’t need to use as much fertilizer and drugs as you normally would thanks to the DNA altering. This helps lower the production cost because you don’t have to buy as many seeds or use as much gas for airplanes that drop fertilizer and drugs on the plants. The DNA is also altered to give the plant a higher nutritional value. Scientists put vitamins in GM foods (such as vitamin A in yellow rice for people who are not in possession of vitamin A), and they put vaccines in GM foods as well. Third world countries get these vaccines and vitamins thanks to the higher quality of GM foods. The plants don’t spoil as fast and, therefore, we can send the GM food easier and farther away. The more GM plants that are grown, the more we can experiment on them and have easier toxicity testing to further our knowledge of GM foods.
All the pros stated before make GM foods sound all wonderful and would obviously make them the ideal choice in the foods that feed our world, but, like everything else in life, there are consequences to growing and harvesting GM foods. One major downside to GM food is that you can’t reuse the seeds. Farmers have to re-buy seeds every year, and this hurts them because the seeds are very expensive. The large farms that can afford the seeds take out the smaller farms because they are producing better crops faster than the smaller farms are. The large farms are creating monopolies by claiming the smaller farms and are slowly replacing organic farming. This takes away biodiversity from the plants, and the plants come out with different texture and vitamins than original plants do. The plants can also produce pollen that can spread to other plants and allow them to produce GM seeds. This is bad because they can transfer herbicide resistance to weeds and make them difficult to kill. Another major downside is that GM foods that are toxic to bugs that eat them are slowly making the bugs immune to the toxin and therefore make them even harder to kill than before. GM foods are resistant to things that are
not an issue in most places that they are grown at and are constantly making diseases, bacteria, and bugs stronger and more resistant to the chemicals in the drugs and the plants that are made to kill them. The long term affects of GM foods are becoming a problem in our world.
There are other ways to create better quality foods other than genetically altering DNA. There’s agroecology which allows the farm to be recognized as an ecosystem. Agroecology goes and fixes a problem instead of covering it up or making it worse than it originally was. You can also use a very diverse selection a crops. “High crop diversity tends to reduce insect populations because insect pests are usually ‘specialists’ on one particular crop.” Diversity also keeps out weeds because by the time all the plants have taken up the resources they need, there’s not enough left for the weeds.
In my opinion, I believe that GM foods are unnecessary because there are other ways to produce better quality foods without making pests stronger. I think we could also be putting all the money that’s used in order to afford making GM seeds to a better cause. I also believe, though, that we should keep some of the vitamins in some plants for the people who need them. The article attached to this essay seems to see the things on a more negative level. I believe the discussion of GM foods is a tough one to pick a side on.
Scientists, as well as Robert Shapiro who is CEO of the Monsanto Corporation, believe that GM food “represents a potentially sustainable solution to the issue of feeding people.” Our human population in the world is constantly increasing and is becoming an issue, and they believe that GM food is the solution. GM food grows faster and stronger than ordinary food, and they can grow in almost any area because they are salt resistant. There is also no irrigation system needed which makes the land less damaged and able to hold more water. You don’t need as much land as you normally would with ordinary farming because they are guaranteed to grow well, and the use of no-till farming helps as well. There is less erosion and runoff as a result of GM foods and no-till farming. The DNA is altered so that they are also resistant to pesticides and diseases which kill off the plants and harm us if we consume them. There are some GM foods that are called “BT” plants which kill the bugs that eat the plants. You also don’t need to use as much fertilizer and drugs as you normally would thanks to the DNA altering. This helps lower the production cost because you don’t have to buy as many seeds or use as much gas for airplanes that drop fertilizer and drugs on the plants. The DNA is also altered to give the plant a higher nutritional value. Scientists put vitamins in GM foods (such as vitamin A in yellow rice for people who are not in possession of vitamin A), and they put vaccines in GM foods as well. Third world countries get these vaccines and vitamins thanks to the higher quality of GM foods. The plants don’t spoil as fast and, therefore, we can send the GM food easier and farther away. The more GM plants that are grown, the more we can experiment on them and have easier toxicity testing to further our knowledge of GM foods.
All the pros stated before make GM foods sound all wonderful and would obviously make them the ideal choice in the foods that feed our world, but, like everything else in life, there are consequences to growing and harvesting GM foods. One major downside to GM food is that you can’t reuse the seeds. Farmers have to re-buy seeds every year, and this hurts them because the seeds are very expensive. The large farms that can afford the seeds take out the smaller farms because they are producing better crops faster than the smaller farms are. The large farms are creating monopolies by claiming the smaller farms and are slowly replacing organic farming. This takes away biodiversity from the plants, and the plants come out with different texture and vitamins than original plants do. The plants can also produce pollen that can spread to other plants and allow them to produce GM seeds. This is bad because they can transfer herbicide resistance to weeds and make them difficult to kill. Another major downside is that GM foods that are toxic to bugs that eat them are slowly making the bugs immune to the toxin and therefore make them even harder to kill than before. GM foods are resistant to things that are
not an issue in most places that they are grown at and are constantly making diseases, bacteria, and bugs stronger and more resistant to the chemicals in the drugs and the plants that are made to kill them. The long term affects of GM foods are becoming a problem in our world.
There are other ways to create better quality foods other than genetically altering DNA. There’s agroecology which allows the farm to be recognized as an ecosystem. Agroecology goes and fixes a problem instead of covering it up or making it worse than it originally was. You can also use a very diverse selection a crops. “High crop diversity tends to reduce insect populations because insect pests are usually ‘specialists’ on one particular crop.” Diversity also keeps out weeds because by the time all the plants have taken up the resources they need, there’s not enough left for the weeds.
In my opinion, I believe that GM foods are unnecessary because there are other ways to produce better quality foods without making pests stronger. I think we could also be putting all the money that’s used in order to afford making GM seeds to a better cause. I also believe, though, that we should keep some of the vitamins in some plants for the people who need them. The article attached to this essay seems to see the things on a more negative level. I believe the discussion of GM foods is a tough one to pick a side on.
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