GMOs | Teen Ink

GMOs

June 6, 2017

Food, we all eat it but do we really know what we're eating.GMO’s or Genetically modified organisms make up 70% - 80% of all food in the US.Genetic modification of food is not new technology, it's been developing for 20 years. Scientists are able to take a portion of the DNA from one organism and place it in another. The question is what are the effects of GMOs on the environment and humans? And do the risks outweigh the potential benefits,
Corn, soy, canola, and many more plants used in many different products are being heavily modified by scientists mostly for herbicide/pesticide tolerance, meaning they are not affected by the harsh chemicals farmers spray into order to kill weeds/bugs. Sounds good right, No. As a result of this new development the use of toxic chemicals has increased x16 times. So weeds don't affect the crops and the farmers can produce more product. But where does the run off go after a heavy storm, the ocean. This can lead to toxic algae blooms, over growth of seaweed, human exposure to toxic chemicals through seafood according to bolg.nature.org. The toxic chemicals in our oceans could lead to discrepancies in many food webs. Another effect excessive chemical use has had is the development of “super weeds/bugs” which can only can be killed by more chemicals. Despite have been around 20 years limited testing has been done on the modified food. Scientist can not know how each new species of GM food will affect every other organism on the plant. Once that GM crop is out there it can’t be recalled. I short sciences could not know with certainty how each crop will affect the environment. Moreover, we also can't know how GM foods will affect us as consumers in the long term. GM foods don’t just have physical effects but economical effects as well. According to the non-GMO project, companies that produce GMOs can sue farms whose fields have been exposed to GMOs.


To continue,the companies conducting the research and producing GMOs are also the companies producing the pesticide and herbicide products. Take Monsanto for example, according to Forbes Magazine the company is worth 50.9 billion. Making 8 million in seed sales in the US and is the 24% of the world's producers pesticides.
So is it worth it? Is the potential benefits of GMOs worth the unknown risks in the future? There is not a straight answer but GMOs should be clearly labeled and researched more extensively on human and in the environment.


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