All of these sources are reliable: they had to be in order for me to pass English my junior year
Genetically modified (GM) foods are rising as a new contender to the good ol’ natural crops we have known and loved for all of human history. No longer are we satisfied with having a sufficient amount of food, we want a surplus, and how do we plan on getting that? Genetic modification, Genetic engineering, and biotechnology. All of these procedures attempt to create superior crops which can withstand all pests, weeds, pesticides and can end world hunger. Scientists construct these super-foods by taking the genes from one organism and injecting them into another, thus fixing genetic defects and making them safer to consume.
The main GM food advocate and company, Monsanto corporations, specifically names the farmer’s, processor’s, and consumer benefits of these new and improved crops, and even said, “for many farmers, especially small-scale growers, our products help improve their lives by helping them produce more while conserving more time and inputs” (Monsanto).
While the benefits of genetic modification seem numerous and infallible, further research shows that these benefits may only be superficial claims leaked by the big GM company, Monsanto, in order to raise profits. Not only has not enough adequate research been done to determine the safety of these products, but the overtake of GM organisms may severely harm the natural world teaching us, perhaps too late, that trust should never be inherent.
Of course Monsanto is going to wholly advocate the use of GM products, they sell the seeds. However, it’s hard to trust these strange new products produced by this company when their track record has a deep scratch in the middle of it. During the Vietnam War Monsanto was the main supplier of the highly concentrated chemical known as Agent Orange which devastated an entire country. Even with the copious amount of perverse effects that, Monsanto was later revealed to have known of through internal memos; the company encouraged the use of the murderous agent in order to make a buck (Parkins). What proves that they aren’t covering up a huge array of negative side effects dealing with GM food? Nothing. And with the company’s history, it is shown that ethical values do not come before business practices.
Another characteristic of the company that comes across as a red flag is that they don’t find it necessary to mark GM products with labels telling that the foods have GM ingredients (Roseboro). It makes it almost impossible to believe that the products truly are a type of panacea food when the heads of the GM business refuse to put labels on their enhanced produce.
Monsanto’s assertion that GM food is completely beneficial is also premature. Little is actually known about the pros and cons of GM food since the current research is “woefully inadequate” (Roseboro). The majority of the experiments done on GM foods have been conducted by biotechnology companies but when independent researchers attempt to study the safety of the GM products they are harassed until their fear stops their curiosity (Roseboro). Meanwhile, those studies that are released by the big biotech companies show an absence of negative effects. Those independent companies that do end up finishing a study under the radar generally find adverse effects of the GM products (Roseboro).
These side effects aren’t just pesky disturbances; some findings are revealing that mice fed GM corn are suffering from reduced fertility and immune system problems that worsen over the span of time that they eat the modified food (Roseboro). These conflicting studies should send a warning sign to all the GM advocates. If nothing is done to at least slow the output of these engineered foods twenty years down the line we may have a world-wide crisis in which all of our food is contaminated with harmful gene modifications.
Unfortunately, the big companies’ GM plan has already been implemented. “More than 80 percent of the corn, soybean and cotton grown in the United States is genetically engineered” (Pollack). If those numbers aren’t terrifying, the fact that in 2006 twenty-two countries had already adopted biotech crops and farming should be (James). If those numbers continue to steadily increase, within a decade the world may be completely rid of natural farming, and may solely rely on GM farming. This would mean that our shelves would be stocked entirely with unknown products that, for all we know, could shut our immune systems down.
Humans aren’t the only beings at risk, however. GM food has the potential to severely disrupt the environment. Because men are creating superior organisms and releasing them into the wild, natural selection is being tampered with. Naturally, plants and animals that survive long enough to reproduce are superior, however now it’s the humans that choose the unsurpassed organisms. It will no longer be natural selection; it will be changed to manmade selection.
“What will happen to wild fish and marine species when scientists release into the environment carp, salmon, and trout that are twice as large, and eat twice as much food, as their wild counterparts” (Cummins). It seems that this is a direct parallel to the introduction of exotic organisms that overtake the natives and leave the regional ecosystem in ruins; mankind should learn something from the trials already handed to them.
One of the well-known benefits of these GM plants is that they can be engineered to be self-pesticide producing, meaning that farmers won’t have to spray pesticides on the plants themselves. Nevertheless, the surrounding weeds and pests may also gain the ability to be pesticide or herbicide resistant due to genetic pollution. This would mean that eventually stronger, more harmful toxins will have to be used to rid the crops of these, now immune, farmers’ nightmares (Cummins).
Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the genetically modified foods is that once they’re released, they can never be recalled since they are living, breathing, unpredictable organisms (Cummins). GM foods will be the children of humanity, rampaging through the ecosystem, populating the earth, and feeding the world. If this child turns out to be a bad seed, we’ve got a major problem on our hands since just as you can never recall your children, no scientist, company, researcher, farmer, nor any man can take back the outpouring of living modified organisms. So you decide, take a stab in the dark and let Monsanto rush GM products to the market, or take the time to truly research the possible effects, good or bad, of these genetically engineered organisms.
