Negative Impacts of Consuming GMO Foods
We can usually see the phrase ‘non-GMO’ or ‘GMO free’ in front of the product when we go grocery shopping at the supermarket. So, what is GMO that can be easily heard in our lives? GMO is a plant or microorganism created by combining two genetically different organisms together. Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are not grown naturally in the world; rather they were created by unnaturally altering their DNA, through the introduction of a gene from a different organism. GMOs have been able to grow more quickly and more easily through genetic modification, making it easier to grow and more economically.
That’s why GMO is so common that everyone has most likely consumed a product containing GMO at least once. From corn to cotton, potatoes, and canola as we know them, many items we encounter in our daily lives are also GMO products. As such, we can easily meet GMO products in our lives, but it is also an indispensable product. Many people think GMO is safe and reliable because they are the result of combining only the scientifically superior parts of the organism. But is it as safe and harmless as people think and believe? In my opinion, we should avoid GMO products as possible as we can. Because I think GMO products not only affect the human body related with allergies but also affect the ecosystem and the economic independence of farmers.
GMOs may contribute to an increase in food-related allergies. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they found that children who have food allergies have increased from 3.4% to 5.1% in the last decade. In the mid-1990s, researchers genetically combined the protein content in Brazil nuts into soybean. As a result, people who had allergic reactions to Brazil nuts had the same allergic reaction to soybean. As such, GMO combines genetic parts to complete one crop, so if a person who is allergic to a certain ingredient meets a GMO product, even if it is a different crop, they can be equally allergic to the same way. This gene connection has caused a chain reaction to other foods. In fact, this crop was eventually cut off from cultivation. This is a real-life example of whether GMO products affect many people with allergies.
Another example is a study that showed salmon being injected with GMO soybean protein, which affected salmon’s immune system. In the bowel tissue of salmon, the reaction in certain cells to soy was increased. It proves that it’s rare but there are a few chances that genes in food can transform the cell of body or bacteria (de Santis B et al., 2018).
Moreover, GMO products not only affect humans, they also affect weeds. GMO can have resistance to weed. GMO products also have the superiority to resist weeds while cultivating them. Therefore, no matter how many weeds grow around GMOs, GMOs can eat nutrients faster than weeds and grow well. But as time went by, the weeds grew more resistant to it. There are currently 64 different types of weed which have been proven to be resistant to atrazine which most commonly used herbicide in the world. Brown University warns that if this GMO crosses into the wild population it could create a superweed which would be impossible to kill. As a result, there superweeds can infest in fields and pocket nutrients from crops, leading farmers to use other strong and harmful to human herbicides to control them. Zandstra, professor in the Michigan State University (MSU) Department of Horticulture, has spent his career studying weed control in fruit and vegetable crops said
“Glyphosate, for example, gives us a very convenient, clean, and safe system. For the first 10 or 15 years, you could spray it once. But it overuse caused resistant weeds to develop” (Zandstra, 2018).
The last thing, many people think GMO is also cost-effective but actually, only 6 companies(Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta, Dow, Bayer, and BASF) have an authority of almost GMO seed market and it charged 70% of all and four firms control more than 60 percent of global proprietary seed sales (Hubbard, 2019).
This means these companies take more commercial profit than a farmer. Evidence of this association has been presented in a research conducted Dr. Vandana Shiva. Since 2012, in India, Cotton farmers are in a deep crisis since shifting to Bt cotton which owned by Monsanto. Monsanto’s royalty extraction, and the high costs of seed and chemicals have created a debt trap. According to Government of India data, nearly 75 percent rural debt is due to purchase inputs. As Monsanto’s profits grow, farmers’ debt grows. It is in this systemic sense that Monsanto’s seeds are seeds of suicide.
According to Manmeet Sahni, “These genetically modified seeds are priced nearly four times higher than the ordinarily available seed. In India, experts have linked Monsanto’s entry into agro-industry to a wave of farmers’ suicides, as they couldn’t afford the expensive, out of reach genetically modified seeds, fertilizers, and insecticide” (Sahni, 2018).
As GMO products become more common, non-GMO markets are also threatened and organic products lose ground. If they can control the seed, they can control the food system. And they control people ultimately.
To conclude, society should not consume GMO products for human health, soil safety, and agricultural life. As the popularity of GMO crops has risen, so many concerns that the crops could reduce and biodiversity of both the agricultural and wild ecosystems. Most of GMO product grown Because of cost-effective. However, we should be concerned about safety before economics. Even if the convenience and benefits are good right now, we should stop growing GMO crops in the distance. Actively handing the issue of restrict GMO foods will ensure that society’s future will gradually improve.
References
de Santis, B., Stockhofe, N., Wal, J.-M., Weesendorp, E., Lallès, J.-P., van Dijk, J., … Kleter, G. (2018). Case studies on genetically modified organisms (GMOs): Potential risk scenarios and associated health indicators. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 117, 36–65. Retrieved from https://doi-org.gbcprx01.georgebrown.ca/10.1016/j.fct.2017.08.033
Hubbard, K (2019). The Sobering Details Behind the Latest Seed Monopoly Chart. Retrieved from https://civileats.com/2019/01/11/the-sobering-details-behind-the-latest-seed-monopoly-chart/
Sahni, M. (2018, April 23). How Agro-Chemical Giant Monsanto Has Been Destroying
Environment, Human Lives for Decades. Retrieved from https://www.telesurenglish.net/analysis/How-Agro-Chemical-Giant-Monsanto-Been-Destroying-Environment-Human-Lives-for-Decades-20180419-0013.html
Shiva, V. (2018, October 21). The Seeds Of Suicide: How Monsanto Destroys Farming. Retrieved from https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-seeds-of-suicide-how-monsanto-destroys-farming/5329947
