DiMarco1

RebeccaDiMarco
ProfessorLudwig
English101
26April2016
HowSafeareGMOs?
TherearemanycontroversiesandconcernsovertheuseofGMOs,whetheritbeover
economicorhealthconcernsGMOsseemtobeahottopicaroundtheworld.GMOisafairly
newsciencewhichoccurswhenlivingorganismshavebeenartificiallymadeinalaboratoryby
geneticallyengineeringthem.Theorganismsconsistofplants,bacteria,genes,andanimals
whichhavebeencombinedthroughanunstablescience.AccordingtoTheNonGMOProject,
therearenobenefitstocommerciallyengineeredGMOs,thereisalothealthproblems,
environmentaldamageandharmtothefarmersandpeoplewhopurchasefoodscontaining
GMOs.ThisraisesalotofconcernsabouthowunsafeGMOsarefortheconsumer.GMOshave
servedtomakeourfoodlastlongerandkeeppestsawayfromourfood,buthealthrisks,
agricultural,environmental/cultures,alongwithseasonalproductconcernsandfoodscarcity
aroundtheworldmayaffectourfuturebynotmaintainingthenaturalelementsinourfood.

Theselectionofchoosingthemostbountifulproducehasbeenaroundcenturiesbefore
GMOswereintroduced.AccordingtoBillGanzel,
Thehistoryofgeneticallymodified
organismsGMOsinagricultureactuallybeganbeforerecordedhistory.Prehistoricfarmers
havebeenselectingthemostproductiveplantsandseedsfromtheirdomesticatedcropsforupto
10,000years(Ganzel).Accordingtothisarticle,GMOshavebeenaroundwiththeideaof
makingfoodlastlongerwithoutintroducingittobacteriafrominsects.ThetrendofGMOs


DiMarco2

mainlybeganduetotomatoesthatweremodifiedtobecomeknownasFlavrSavr.Tomatoes
wereengineeredtostayfirmandlastlonger,whichwasapprovedforthecommercialproduction
intheU.S.Infact,accordingtotheNonGMOProject,Itwasdiscoveredthattomatoeslost
theirflavoranddidnotholdupduringtheirshippingprocess.Duetothisfact,tomatoesareno
longergeneticallymodifiedandarenolongeraGMOrisk.EnvironmentalconcernsofGMOs
causeriskstoexchangingofgenesbetweenspecies.AccordingtoDustinMulvaney,Infact,
GMcropsaremorelikelytointerbreedwithotherspeciesbecausetheyareengineeredtosurpass
naturalbarriersofreproduction(219).Thisshowshowdangeroustheuseofgenetic
modificationistospeciesduetothefactthatitcanalterthegenepool.Anotherenvironmental
concernis,GMcropsusedtoproducepharmaceuticalspresentthechancesofenvironmental
andhumandisasterand,ifnotconfined,canspreadtononGMcrops(Mulvaney219).This
wouldleadtothingssuchasallergies,ingestingtoxinsaswellasnegativenutritionaleffectsin
people.TheGMOcropsmightalsobecomeresistanttopests,droughts,ordiseases.
Since
herbicidesareassociatedwithGMcrops,theycanharmbirds,insects,andmarineecosystems.
Theyreducebiodiversity,pollutewaterresources,andareunsustainable.Wh
entheGMOcrops
areresistanttothesethingsitplaysariskinharmingourhealthandoursociety.

TheresmanycontroversieswhetherGMOsaresafeforourhealthandthe
environment/agriculture.AccordingtoJeffreySmith,TheAmericanAcademyof
EnvironmentalMedicine(AAEM)urgesdoctorstoprescribenonGMOdietsforallpatients.
TheAAEMciteanimalstudiesshowingorgandamage,gastrointestinalandimmunesystem
disorders,acceleratedaging,andinfertility.ThesestudiesshowthatGMOscanleavematerials
behindinsideus,whichcauseslongtermproblems.Geneticengineeringcreatesdangerousside


DiMarco3

effectstospeciesbymixinggenesfromunrelatedspecies,thiscausesgeneticengineeringto
unleashahostofunpredictablesideeffects.Furthermore,withoutconsiderationofthetypeof
genesthatareinserted,theveryprocessofcreatingaGMplantcanresultinmassivecollateral
damagethatproducesnewtoxins(JeffreySmith).Itsimportantthatwetakeintoconsideration
thatwearemixinggenesandthatcancausedamagetoourselvesandthespeciesthatare
importantforourplanet.GMOscancauseenvironmentalimpactsbyspreadingundesirabletraits
toweedsandnonGEcrops.AccordingtotheNonGMOProject,Theoveruseof
herbicidetolerantGEcropshasspurredanincreaseinherbicideuse,andanepidemicof
herbicideresistantsuperweeds.Duetothisitwillcauseanincreaseoftheuseofherbicide.
Herbicidesaretoxictoplantsandifwearesprayingthisonourcropsthenyoureallywonder
whatitisdoingtoyourbody.
GMOsarechangingourviewbytamperingwithnaturesnaturalbalance.Accordingto
Mulvaney,Manyculturesbelievethatalllifeissacredanddonotbelieveinpatentingor
ownershipoflifeforms(221).Whenalteringgenesweareshowingdisrespectforsacredlife
andgivingintoourgreed.Mulvaneyexplains,Anotherimportantissueiswhenthegenetic
traitsusedforGMOscomefromlocalseedbanksmeantforcollectiveuse.Thousandsofspecies
ofgrainsthathavebeenselectedandbrednaturallybyourancestorsarestoredinsuchbanks.
CompanieslikeMonsantodevelopGMOsbyusinggenesfromthesespeciesandthencollect
royaltiesevenfromthecommunitieswhoseancestorscreatedit(221).Thisexplainsthatnatural
grainsbredbyourancestorsarebeingmixedwithGMOsfromlocalseedbanksforthepurpose
ofobtainingmoremoney.Thiscausesaproblembecausewhatwasmeanttobenaturalisnow
beingmanufacturedunnaturallywithoutconcernforculturesorourenvironment.


DiMarco4

Itmaybedifficultforconsumerstopurchaseagriculturalproductsbecausesomestateswill
blocktheuseofrequiringfoodlabelsonproducts.AccordingtoMarcLallanilla,Rep.Mike
Pompeo(RKan.)sponsoredabillthatwouldblockstateandlocallawsfromrequiringfood
labelstodisclosegeneticallyengineeredingredients,accordingtothe
WashingtonPost

(Lallania).Ifwedonothavelabelsonthefoodswepurchase,wecouldbeputtingourhealthat
risk.Peoplemightnotbeconfidentpurchasingproductstheyarenotfamiliarwith,andthey
mightlimittheirspendingtothefoodsthattheyknowaresafeandreliable.Companiesmaybe
havingahardtimemarketingthemselvesduetothefactthatthecostoflabelingthefoodswould
mostlikelybepassedontotheconsumer.Theywouldhavetohaveseparateadvertisingwithin
theirstorestodesignatethenaturalasopposedtothemanufacturedfoods.Foodswouldhaveto
bepackageddifferently.AccordingtoRachelFeltman,Majorcompanieschangethewaythey
advertisebylettingconsumersknowthattheyhaveremoveddyes,changedsweeteners,and
somecompanieshaveadvisedconsumersthattheyhaveremovedcertainchemicalseventhough
thesechemicalsareharmless.Theremaybenorealsciencebehindthedecisiontomakethese
changes(Feltman).Inotherwords,somecompaniesareawarethatconsumersdonotwant
manufacturedadditivesintheirproduct,sotogetconsumerstobuytheirproducttheyadvertise
thattheirproductiswithoutcertainadditiveswheninfact,thoseadditivesarecompletely
harmless.Theywanttheirhealthyproducttoappealtotheconsumerwhenthetruthistheir
productisntreallyhealthier.
GMOswillpotentiallychangeoursocietyinthefutureduetothefactthattheremaynotbe
enoughfoodavailablefortheworldspopulationalongwiththefactthatfoodswillnolongerbe
seasonalproducts.AccordingtoMulvaney,Somemaintainthateventhoughthestaplecropsin


DiMarco5

severalcountriesarecheapandeasilyavailable,thereisstillmalnutritionbecausethenonstaple
foodsrichinmicronutrients,vitamins,andsoonareveryexpensive(222).Thesenonstaple
foodsaremorehighlydesirableandmoredifficulttoobtain.Inordertomakethesefoods
availableGMOsprovideacheaperalternativetothenonstaplefoodslikefish,fruits,etc.
Mulvaneyarguesthat,TheysaythattheconsumerpoliticsoftheFirstWorldignorethe
desperateneedsoftheThirdWorldpopulation.IfGMOscanbereadilyacceptedaslifesaving
medicines,thentheyshouldalsobeusedtofeedstarvingmassesoftheThirdWorld,whomay
soondiebecauseofhunger(222).ThoseinsupportofusingGMOs,believethattherearemore
benefitsfromtheirusebecausetheywillkeeppeoplewellfedinanaffordableway.Iftheuseof
GMOresultsintheprocessofprovidinghealthyfoodandmedicinetoourpoorestcountries,then
thefuturewouldseehealthierpeoplewhohavetheabilitytocareforthemselves.Peoplewill
havebetterandlongerlives.InthearticleANewHope?GMOFood:BattlesLost,WarWon,
ConsciousnessChanged,ItcomparesanorganictomatoandaGMOtomato.Theviewercansee
thevastlydifferentsizeandcolorofthetwotomatoes.Theorganictomatolooksfreshand
appealingbecauseofthebrightredcolorandthefirmfreshnessofthestem.Whenviewingthe
GMOtomato,theviewercanseetheoddcoloraswellasitsbulkyshapeandwiltedstem.When
comparingthesetwotomatoestheviewercanseethedifferencebetweensomethingthatlooks
freshandwholesomeandsomethingthatlooksunhealthyandunappealingtotheeye.Thefuture
ofoursocietyhasnowchangedthenaturalandseasonalwayofproducingtomatoes.Fruitsand
vegetablesthatwereavailableonlyattheirseasonaltimeofyear,arenowavailableallyear
round.


DiMarco6

TherearemanyotheradvertisementsthatshowhowunappealingfoodscontainingGMOs
look.InamovieadvertisementbyJeffMurray,showsapicturetitledGMOOMG,whichalso
showsapicturesquefarmwithaclearblueskyandaperfectlookingcornsproutingatthe
surface.Hiddenfromtheviewinanormalfarmsettingarethechemicalsthatliebeneaththedirt
whicharevisibleinthisadvertisement.Sincecropsaresprayedwithchemicalsandinjectedwith
GMOsthenegativeeffectsarenotvisiblebutareaseriousdangertotheconsumersofthese
crops.AtthebottomoftheadvertisementthequestionisaskedIsthistheendofrealfood?
Thisisasignthatmuchofourfoodisnotbeingproducednaturallyandweareconsumingthe
chemicalsusedingrowingandpreservingthesefoods.Thequoteusedattheendofthe
advertisementistoscaretheconsumersintowantingtotakeactionandchangethewaywe
produceourfood.
Duetotheevidencepresented,GMOsseemtohaveanegativeimpactonhealth,
environment,andagriculture.
TherearemanystudiesshownwhatthepotentialeffectsofGMOs
woulddotoourhealthandtheenvironment,sowhyshouldweriskthisdanger?
Wehaveno
wayofknowingwhatthepotentialharmcouldbewhenconsumingGMOseitherinfoodor
medicine.
GMOswillnotonlyharmourselvesbutitwillalsohurttheenvironmentby
exchangingofgenesbetweenspecies.Thisnegativeaffectwillharmtheplanetduetothefact
thatsomeofthosespecieshelppreservetheplanet.
InviewingtheorganicandGMaltered
foods,thereisavastdifferenceintheoutwardappearancewiththeGMfoodappearingmuch
lessappealing.Thishastomaketheviewerwonderiftheoutsideappearssodifferent,whatmust
theinsidebelike,notonlywiththeappearancebutwiththegeneticallymodifiedorganisms


DiMarco7

themselves.Whenalteringnature,weremovethewayitisintendedtobe,andwemayendup
withconsequencesthatcannotbeundone.


DiMarco8

WorksCited
Christyn,Royce."ANewHope?GMOFood:BattlesLost,WarWon,ConsciousnessChanged."
YourNewsWire
.09Nov.2014.Web.21Apr.2016.
"ConsumersUnion:LabelingGMOsWouldCostEachConsumer$2.30Annually|FoodSafety
News."
FoodSafetyNews
.NewsDesk,07Oct.2014.Web.20Apr.2016.
Feltman,Rachel."WhyGMOfreeIsaMarketingPloyYouShouldntFallfor."
Washington
Post
.TheWashingtonPost,2Sept.2015.Web.20Apr.2016.
Ganzel,Bill."TheGMOAgeBegins."
Farming1970stoToday
.TheGanzelGroup,2009.Web.
20Apr.2016.
"GENETICALLYMODIFIEDORGANISMS."
TheNonGMOProjectRSS
.Web.20Apr.2016.
Lallanilla,ByMarc."GMOs:FactsAboutGeneticallyModifiedFood."
LiveScience
.TechMedia
Network,11Jan.2016.Web.20Apr.2016.
Mulvaney,Dustin.GreenFoods:AnAtoZGuide.ThousandOaks,CA,SAGEPublications
Inc,
2010.Print.
Murray,Jeff."ScreeningofNewFilmaboutGeneticallymodifiedFood."
ElmiraStarGazette
.
11Sept.2014.Web.28May2016.
Smith,Jeffrey."10ReasonstoAvoidGMOs."
InstituteforResponsibleTechnology
.25Aug.
2011.Web.28May2016.