May Yang

Professor Michael Flower

FRINQ: Life Unlimited?
27 January 2015

Drawing The Limits Between GMOs and Natural Food Sources

As science becomes more genetically advanced throughout the years, it is a great progress to
see genetically modified organisms (GMOs) improving and becoming a known food source in the
world today. Although there are more and more GMOs being grown today, it doesnt mean that natural
foods should stop growing. There are benefits to having both natural and modified crops, but there are
also some negative effects to growing both. Some benefits from genetically modified organisms is that
it can lower the mortality rate in young children because GMOs can provide vital nutrients that they are
lacking and it can also help crop production. GMOs have good genetic traits and are able to resist
herbicides, pests and diseases that might kill it. According to the article A Clear Case for Golden Rice,
a spokesperson who supports the growth of GMOs believes that golden rice might be an answer to
the vitamin A deficiency that is a significant cause of death in young children, especially in parts of
Southeast Asia and Africa. Patrick Moore, the spokesperson for the protesters supporting GMOs,
claims that, These deaths could be prevented . . . by the use of golden rice, a form of the grain that
has been genetically modified to have a higher beta carotene content than ordinary rice (Singer 1).
Since the golden rice has more benefits than normal rice, the genetically modified grain should be
given to children who are lacking it, because its what they need in order to survive. According to the
article The case for GMOs in Uganda, Michael J Ssali states that Uganda is a country where there are
food-related issues such as malnutrition. The poor people in Uganda are eating staple foods just to
keep their stomachs full, but they continue to suffer due to malnutrition and they are lacking vital

nutrients to survive, such as iron, zinc and vitamin A. If the impoverished people ate GMO foods, it
would be able to fill their stomachs just the same as staple foods would, but would also give the benefit
of providing the nutrition that they need in order to survive. Genetically modified foods were easily
accepted by the impoverished in Uganda, since they taste like the sweet potatoes and beans that have
been their main diet for generations (Ssali 2). Its okay to eat and by providing the necessary nutrients
vital to human health, the genetically modified crop looks and tastes the same and no harm is being
done. As more GMOs are being improved, they are most likely able to resists against herbicides, pests,
and disease that might kill it, unlike crops that were naturally produced. GMOs will overall benefit
society in greater ways and although there are some risks to have genetically modified crops, the
potential benefits weigh more than the negative effects of it.
Although more and more GMO crops are growing worldwide today, natural foods should still
be growing at the same rate, if not at an even faster rate of how much GMO crops are growing today.
As stated from the previous articles, genetically modified crops may have more benefits than natural
foods, but that is not always the case. GMOs are usually modified to strive in certain environments by
enhancing the traits that allows them to yield at higher rates, but because they mass produce crops of
those traits, if there were to be unexpected outbreak of disease that can kill off the GMO crops, there is
no defense against it. Organic foods should still be grown because they are more likely to be fresher
than GMO crops and although some people in certain countries are okay with having genetically
modified crops, other people like Ugandans like to keep their traditions and grow natural foods, not
GM foods. According to the article Does Uganda really need GMOs?, an African woman stated that
most of the citizens in Uganda would rather much keep their traditional seeds and grow natural foods
than grow genetically modified ones. The African woman from the article said she grew up a very
healthy woman and she stood her ground by asking if she would have produced twins if [she] ate
GMOs (Oniro 1). Although the woman was against GMOs, her thoughts probably made other people
wonder if GMOs really are safe to eat. Some countries would rather keep their natural foods because

they know that their natural foods will do no harm and if they are organic foods, it wouldnt be sprayed
with chemicals or other pesticides like how genetically modified crops would be.
There may be more benefits to growing GMO crops, but growing genetically modified crops
also comes with some negative side effects, such as the growth of superweeds, potential health risks,
and the impacts on the safety of genetically modified foods. According to the article A Clear Case for
Golden Rice, Singer states that when genetically modified crops were first developed, there were
questions as to whether or not the crops were safe to eat and the possibility that the crops might crosspollinate with wild plants, passing on the special qualities they were given, such as resistance to pests,
and so create new superweeds (Singer 1). If superweeds were grown, it would take up all of the
nutrients from the ground and although it will not die from pests or herbicides, its not good for the
environment because its growing in areas where natural crops could grow and produce food. Luckily,
no new superweeds have emerged according to Singer. The use of pesticides used on GMO farming
were a big issue in Hawaii according to the article On the Front Lines of Hawaiis GMO War. Many
residents living on the Hawaiian island Kauai didnt like the use of pesticides so they began to learn
more about the GMO development and pesticides and decided to protest against the use of it. The
pesticides being used were linked to serious health problems and are banned in European countries,
and federal law requires that they be applied by or under supervision of workers with special training
(Ludwig 2). The pesticides were being used on genetically modified crops on Kauai and it just shows
that the companies that provided it were being irresponsible about it. It is banned in other countries, yet
the companies are still spraying it, even though there are potentially health risks. The families that live
near the GMO fields want the safety of their children, but theyre not safe due to the fact that the
pesticides are always flowing around the air, especially near school grounds. Parents of these children
just want to protect their child from harm, but its hard to do so if pesticides are being sprayed near
school areas. The article states that on two occasions, Teachers at a local middle school said noxious
odors caused chaos on campus as children became sick and some had to be taken home or to the

hospital. Many of the teachers at the school blamed pesticides sprayed by Syngenta, but the company
claimed the strange odors and symptoms were caused by an outbreak of stinkweed, a plant that grows
in the area (Ludwig 2). The community advocates found this completely unacceptable and protested
on the use of these chemicals being sprayed in the air. Although it was mainly the cause of pesticides
being used, GMO companies should also take responsibility for it and try hard to provide a safe
environment to live in, especially in an area where people live in.
As there are risks for genetically modified crops to being grown, there are also risks for natural
crops to grow too. Growing natural crops might not have the necessary nutrients, such as rice and
natural foods are easily susceptible to disease and pests. The article A Clear Case for Golden Rice
stated that ordinary rice lacked vitamin A, which became a big issue because there was a seriousness
of vitamin A deficiency among children, especially in parts of Africa and Southeast Asia (Singer 1).
Because some natural foods are easily susceptible to disease and pests, it just means that this type of
food with have a higher maintenance cost and it will cost companies more and more money to keep it
growing. Since all natural foods go through natural selection, it will take a long time for the foods to
have varieties that will do well in its given environment.
With the given pros and cons of GMOs and natural foods, I think its safe to say that modifying
the natural foods to give more versatility by adding nutritional traits and enhancing the survivability
will benefit the farmers and the consumers because it will reduce the maintenance cost and it will give
more nutritional value for the price.

Works Cited

Ludwig, Mike. On the Front Lines of Hawaii's GMO War (November 21, 2013): 1-4. Print.
Oniro, Tom. Does Uganda really need GMOs? (May 2, 2014): 2-4. Print.
Singer, Peter. A Clear Case for Golden Rice (February 17, 2014): 1-2. Print.
Ssali, Michael J. The case for GMOs in Uganda (September 11, 2014): 4-7. Print.