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Ashlyn Talcott

Ms. Blattman

Biology 1010

15 December 2017

Genetically Modified Food

Genetically modifying food/produce has been a very large biological issue in current

society. It has caused immense controversy due to moral ethics as well as its positive and

negative effects. GM foods are foods that have had various changes introduced to their actual

DNA. This variation in DNA creates new traits in the produce such as: delayed-ripening,

resistance, change in size, longer duration, better quality, etc. This method is called genetic

engineering which has proven to be substantially more effective than other methods such as

mutation breeding and selective breeding. The first genetically modified foods were first

introduced to the marketplace in 1990’s. Since then, there have been ongoing public concerns.

Many concerns go along with food safety, overall impact, and GM seeds being corporately

owned.

PROS OF GM FOODS: Many argue that the advantages of genetically modified foods

outweigh the negative aftermath. One of the first advantages of GM foods are that farmers will

spend less money while producing more food. This helps the overall farmer economy. Also, with

the use of GM, the foods automatically become more insect resistance due to the fewer use of

pesticides and herbicides. This greatly benefits the lives of insects, especially bees. Another

positive aspect is that farmers will be doing less tiling to remove the weeds. This will thereby be

protecting the essential soil needed for the produce to grow. A final major advantage to genetic

engineering is that The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says that many
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of the genetically modified foods actually prove to be very high in nutrition. They report that the

foods are specifically engineered to be higher in terms of minerals and vitamins. Not only does

this increase in minerals and vitamins help society fill their bodies with the essentials that they

need, it also shows to play a significant role in developing countries where many of the people

are starved and malnurtured. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations also

explains that a typical GM food, enhanced rice, is rich with vitamin A and is helping to reduce

the global vitamin A deficiency.

CONS OF GM FOODS: In opposing views, many people think that although there are a

few advantages, the negative outcomes are absolutely detrimental to the overall environment.

Many activist are trying to minimize, if not diminish entirely, all production of genetically

modified/enhanced foods. One of the greatest disadvantages of these types of produce are

allergic reactions. Some people are just not meant to handle these non-natural foods. GM’s are

also creating something called “super weeds” which are basically weeds that have become

resistant to glyphosate. Overtime, this will cause many further issues. The final major

disadvantage I would like to address is that the use of genetic engineering has caused a decrease

in antibiotic efficacy.

Personally, I disagree with genetic engineering and modifying of any food or produce. I

acknowledge that some people think that this production benefits many undeveloped countries

with their starvation rates, but, I think that there will be more detrimental effects in the long run.

In my opinion, it is unethical. Our human bodies are not supposed to be consuming these vicious

and unnatural products. They produce fewer good than they do harm.
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Work Cited

Duvauchelle, Joshua. “Pros & Cons of GMO Foods.” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group, 3 Oct.

2017, www.livestrong.com/article/213053-pros-cons-of-gmo-foods/.

“Genetically modified food.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Jan. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/Genetically_modified_food.

“GMO foods have not proven themselves safe. Here's what to do about it.” Newport Natural

Health, 8 Dec. 2017, www.newportnaturalhealth.com/2013/07/gmos-the-pros-cons

-of-genetically-modified-food/.

Naylor, Lindsay. "A Place for Gmos in Food Sovereignty?." Geographical Review, vol. 107, no.

4, Oct. 2017, pp. 572-577. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/gere.12258.