Recently, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have switched up our diet with altered foods which have affected human health as well as the community. GMOs are created by taking different species and splicing their genes then they are combined through genetic engineering. Consuming these foods and other processed foods can lead to cancer or an increased risk of disease. We do not even realize that we are devouring these toxins due to the fact that it is being used without our knowledge. Farmers in traditional farming practices, choose to grow organic produce over crops that are genetically engineered, are trying to keep their business’ alive. Large companies who decide to use genetically modified seeds make more money and spend less time and effort doing so. Buying local organic produce over crops that contain GMOs can help you stay healthy while also helping the farmers keep their business’ so that they continue to grow crops the way mother nature would.
Since we live in the bay, we have access to a variety of organic fruits and veggies. The farmland in California makes it easy to grow just about anything due to the good soil and weather. Although we are lucky to be in an area that can grow countless crops, corporations and their GMO products are starting to take over. Nine crops are currently on commercials and being sold in the U.S. These include soy, cotton, canola, corn, hawaiian papaya, alfalfa, yellow squash, and zucchini. Those products are more than 50 percent genetically modified as well as tabaco (Smith, 258). Corn can be injected into multiple products, now think about if there was genetically modified corn. Would it be a blessing or a curse? While the mass production of genetically modified food takes less time and makes the consumers happy, it also damages our health as we digest those products. The U.S. and Canada are the only countries that don’t require GMO labels. This being said, we are consuming GMOs that we have no idea about. Some foods we eat on a daily basis contain GM ingredients and contain traces of GM materials (Smith 258). What we try to avoid to keep our health up and good actually pollutes our air, yes GMOs are in the air we breathe.
Now that you know a bit about GMOs, let us take a look at the health risks of these genetically modified foods. GMOs were founded around 1996 and the side effects have shown: there has been an increase in allergies, bacteria, and other toxic hazards. You may think that these side effects are minimal, but in reality the long term effects are drastic. Each day, more and more children are dealing with life-threatening allergic reactions which could be caused by GMO intake. Thirty seven people have died from side effects of GMOs, one thousand five hundred paralyzed, and five thousand were temporarily handicapped by chemicals used in GMOs (Smith 258). The chemical glyphosate could cause miscarriages, cancer and stillbirths (The Ecologist). Researchers found this out by testing the chemical on similar human birth defects using frog and chicken embryos. They found that GMOs could cause a baby to be born as a one eyed monster. As we continue to eat GMOs, the side effects will only increase.
The effects on humans may only be just starting to show, but the animal testing has been going on for much longer. It shows that animals have been suffering due to the GMOs and we might just suffer too. A leader who promotes non-GMO foods, Jeffery M. Smith, wrote in his book Genetic Roulette about the side effects and harm that came to animals while testing GMOs.
“Lab animals tested with GM foods had stunted growth, impaired immune systems, bleeding stomachs, abnormal and potentially cancerous cell growth in the intestines, impaired blood cell development, misshapen cell structures in the liver, pancreas, and testicles, altered gene expression and cell metabolism, liver and kidney lesions, partially atrophic livers, inflamed kidneys, less developed brains and testicles, enlarged livers, pancreases, and intestines reduced digestive enzymes, higher blood sugar, inflamed lung tissue, increased death rates and higher offspring mortality.” (Smith 5).
These results of GMOs on animals shows how consuming these products can lead to health risks. Many body parts were affected and the animal’s lifespan became shorter even worse their offsprings chance of survival decreased. Think about the effects that humans will have after the long term exposure to GMOs. I wouldn’t want to eat something that could potentially harm my body and organs nor something that could endanger my life and my future children’s life.
“Cancer is a disease that is caused by a lack of vitamins and the poisonous chemical substance found in our food” (Nacci 25). Adding more chemicals to our everyday foods only increases our chance of inheriting this disease. “The majority of genes used in GE come from living species which have never been a part of the human food chain and actually come from the DNA not of plants but of animals, bacteria or viruses and/or transgenic retroviruses” (Nacci 26). These modified organisms can cause so much damage to our somewhat healthy bodies while switching to an organic diet could keep us alive as it has for many years. Adding these genes will be harmful in a negative way to our bodily functions. It may also increase our chances of developing a disease.
Organic foods are much healthier for our bodies, yet due to the fact that large companies are producing genetically modified foods the organic farms are going out of business. Some corporations like Delta & Pine Land Co. developed the “Terminator gene”. The “gene causes a plant to effectively commit suicide, by producing a sterile seed” (Arkansas Times) and cuts it off for the next season. Farmers must purchase seeds, so it benefits the companies that sell the seeds end of season. Genetically modified seeds are cheaper due to the fact that it can’t be used next season, but the cost of these seeds does increase over time. Farmers’ are having to spend even more money. Using these seeds that are unable to be used again drives these farmers to not be able to keep their farm alive. Farms that choose not to use these GM seeds are still threatened by large companies that could take over their small business. Either way, whichever choice the farmer makes the trouble of GMOs are just too much whether they wanted to grow it or not.
You may think that only a small amount of GMO products are commercialized, but I assure you that there are far more products that you did not know about. As Jared Diamond states in his book Collapse “virtually all GM crop production at present is of just four crops (soybeans, corn, canola, and cotton) not eaten directly by humans but used for animal fodder, oil, or clothing” (508). This implies that we are exposed to the GMOs present in these products. Think about it, we consume animal products everyday and those animals have been in contact with GMOs. We use canola oil to bake and wear cotton clothes. Most genetically modified foods “contain its own built-in pesticides…when bugs take a bite of the GM plant, the toxins split open their stomach and kill them” (Smith 18). This being said, we take in these “safe” products despite their ability to kill living things inside and out.
If GMOs were labeled, maybe we could somehow eliminate the intake of these harmful products. The U.S. is one of the countries that does not require GMO labeling. If GMOs were labeled, we would be able to see the foods we eat daily and decrease the intake of the product to maintain a healthy body. There are people out there that are petitioning for GMO labels such as “California’s Right To Know”. They are fighting for labeling the products as a requirement so that shoppers are aware of the harm it may do. To know what we are eating can help us make better decisions to save our bodies and keep ourselves healthy.
Humans can have a long and healthy life if we can focus on the farmers that are choosing to stick to the way of nature. Foods grown organically have all the vitamins and minerals we need to survive. Nature has kept us going for centuries, it only makes sense to keep it that way. Food shouldn’t be manipulated or changed if it could damage us within. Organic farmers have worked with what they were given instead of fighting against nature to change or alter ways.
Supporting farmers that continue to grow organic products is one way to help put an end to GMOs. These farmers are being manipulated by big corporations promising big bucks. What they don’t realize is that they are being sucked into debt by the next planting season. Purchasing at local farmers markets can help keep you and your children healthy as well as keep those farms that continue to stick to organics alive.
Another way to stay away from GMOs is by using your everyday tool, your phone. There are many apps that actually help you avoid and locate products that are genetically modified. One app I know of is called “True foods shoppers guide”. The app gives you info on the products you buy and what contains GMOs. As well as apps, it is possible to actually look up or research different products without GMOs so that you know what is healthy and what is not. This all does sound like a lot of work, but in the long run it will be worth keeping you alive and well. Bringing this kind of awareness about genetically modified organisms will help save the world and the people who live in it as well as future generations.
Given all this information, GMOs actually have not been tested on humans and that’s one of the many reasons why they should not be consumed. With so many side effects that animals have had, only shows that humans will be effected sooner or later. So let us take a stand against it. Supporting and buying organic products from local farmers will save all of us. Buying local grown crops is healthier but will also promise that there will be more available. Price of course varies, but you are paying for the quality of the food you are taking in. GMOs were never meant to be consumed and don’t go well with our body and system. It really ruins the balance of things. Don’t put your life at risk by eating GMOs. It is your life, your body, and your choice. Only you get to decide what goes into your body.
Bibliography
“Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S.” ERS/USDA Data. Web. 12 May 2012. <http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/biotechcrops/>.
“A Collaborative Initiative Working to Ensure the Sustained Availability of Non-GMO Options.” The Non-GMO Project. Web. 06 May 2012. <http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/gmos-and-your-family/>.
“Dangers of Genetic Engineering in Agriculture.” Dangers of Genetic Engineering Campaign for Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.safe-food.org/-issue/dangers.html>.
Diamond, Jared M. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print.
Gammons, Nancy. “Four Sisters Farm.” E-mail interview. 30 Apr. 2012.
“Label GMOs-California Committee For The Right to Know.” LabelGMOs. Web. 03 May 2012. <http://www.labelgmos.org/the_science_genetically_modified_foods_gmo>.
Lapidus, Jennifer. “Genetically Modified Food Should Be Labeled.” Genetically Modified Food. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2009. 31-36. Print.
Leopold, Aldo. “The Land Ethic.” The Environmental Responsibility Reader. London: Zed, 2009. 22-27. Print.
Nacci, Giuseppe. “Genetically Modified Food Can Cause Disease.” Genetically Modified Food. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2009. 24-30. Print.
“Organic Foods.” : Understanding Organic Food Labels, Benefits, and Claims. Web. 04 May 2012. <http://www.helpguide.org/life/organic_foods_pesticides_gmo.htm>.
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.
“Revealed: The Glyphosate Research the GM Soy Lobby Doesn’t Want You to Read.” The Ecologist. Web. 12 May 2012. <http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/other_comments/686959/revealed_the_glyphosate_research_the_gm_soy_lobby_doesnt_want_you_to_read.html>.
Schonwald, Josh. The Taste of Tomorrow: Dispatches from the Future of Food. New York: Harper, 2012. Print.