GMO’s Foundation of Life

Imagine eating chemicals instead of food. Not so tasty I would imagine. With GMOs, you may actually be eating chemicals. GMO is an acronym for Genetically Modified Organisms, or organism that have undergone changes in a lab. Some of these changes may include heat resistance, frost resistance, resistance to pesticides, etc¦ Because of GMOs harmful traits and inconclusive research, GMOs should be banned.

Surprisingly, we have been genetically modifying organisms for over 30,000 years. Selective breeding, where humans encourage two animals to mate to get specific genes, is considered genetically modifying.

Modern GMOs is more serious, involving moving genetic code from one organism to another organism. In 1973 the first modern GMO experiment took place. 1980 and 1982 were big years for GMO experiments, as well. The Supreme Court allowed companies to get patents for GMOs and the FDA approved products made with the GMOs. GMOs quickly took off, including Food crop GMOs approved in 1992, insecticide-producing crops in 1995, and herbicide-resistant crops in 1995, adding vitamins to rice in 2000, etc..

After GMOs were introduced the percent of Americans with 3 or more chronic illnesses shot up from 7% to 13%, and, digestive and reproductive issues, autism, and allergies have become more common since then. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) tells us about animal studies showing organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging, and infertility. Also, 80% of all GMOs are herbicide resistant, meaning farmers can spray on chemicals without hurting the plant. One of the most common herbicides is RoundUp, which recently gave a person cancer. GMOs are like a ticking bomb, just waiting to go off, spreading harmful chemical everywhere. (Figurative Language). GMOs were created to also increase crop yields, but reports with almost 20 years of peer review show the yield of crops was not any greater than non-GMO crop yields. Dr. Gurian-Sherman wrote this report, and has many years of experience. He worked for the US FDA and US EPA as a biotech specialist. He concludes, “Traditional breeding outperforms genetic engineering hands down.”

Some might say GMOs are beneficial, and they are. GMOs allow certain crops to grow in conditions they wouldn’t normally be able to grow. For example, crops would be able to grow in the snow or in extreme heat. Scientists can also add vitamins to crops to get vitamins to lower-income areas for cheap. Vitamin A has been added to rice, a cheap plant that feeds millions of people. Some might say the GMOs ability to be insect resistant is handy as well. This way consumers and farmers alike do not need to worry about insects ruining food.

Despite these ideas, the facts show GMOs aren’t ready for the public. Greater yields will only mean more people will suffer its negative characteristics. Adding vitamins to crops won’t help anyone if they lead to digestive and reproductive issues. GMOs need to be rethought out, for example, making sure GMOs aren’t poisonous or harmful before selling them publicly. Until these issues are resolved, GMOs should be banned. We lived for millions of years without GMOs, so getting rid of GMOs won’t be as hard as you may think. By banning GMOs, we will save food and humans alike. Together we can change our food!

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