Modern technology has empowered humans to perform the unthinkable: the modification of deoxyribonucleic acid, otherwise well-known as DNA. DNA is the carrier of genetic information and it serves as the genetic blueprint for humans and other organisms. The alteration of DNA was a huge accomplishment in the study of genetics, and led to the process of genetic engineering.

Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM) is defined as “the altering at the molecular or cellular level by means that are not possible under natural conditions or processes, including recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid techniques, cell fusion, changing the positions of genes, introduction of a foreign gene, and gene deletion and doubling.”

Ever since humans started practicing genetic engineering, several short-term solutions have been provided for society. For example, humans are able to mass-produce food for the increasingly large population by altering the genetic makeup of crops, give parents the ability to pre-determine the genetics of their children, recreate organs by cloning, etc. The dependence on GE is steadily increasing, as humans are creating genetically modified foods and animals (GMOs), and are even leaning towards genetically modifying humans. However, is GE safe, reliable, and morally just?

Several studies have shown potential harmful side-effects, and there has been a growing debate over the long-term effects of proceeding with GE, especially when it involves genetically modifying humans. In Lewis Thomas’s “On Cloning a Human Being”, Thomas expresses his concern about the genetic process of cloning human beings, as he fears the social and safety “risks of misused technology”(Thomas 679). According to Thomas, we are putting the future at great risk by assuming that GE is safe for future and permanent use, and it is absurd to even consider cloning human beings. Even though genetic engineering has many short-term benefits, it should not be the future of our lives because it poses harmful long-term effects such as social concerns regarding the blending of DNA, several potential risks to human health, and detrimental effects to the environment.

As modern technology and human’s ability to further genetic engineering develops, the more social concerns are imposed on society. For instance, GE poses religious concerns for the religious community. Religious individuals feel that the knowledge given to people from God should be used to address the purpose of life, rather than to perfect the physical state of society through genetic modification. By being able to modify DNA, people are playing a god-like figure by attempting to control every aspect of life. Religious individuals feel that this increase use of genetic engineering will reduce faith, threatening God’s value and meaning to the religious community.

In addition to religious concerns, GE also poses moral concerns. People fear that reliance on GE will increase, as we continue to try “perfecting the human” through genetic modification. If everybody is virtually identical, nobody will be unique, and there will be no element of surprise in life. Also, if everybody is virtually identical, humans will not be able to evolve and will rely on cloning in order to maintain the “perfect human”. This psychological obsession of trying to maintain a state of perfection through GE is morally wrong, because it is artificial, rather than authentic.

In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, Shelley warns her audience that people run great risk in not accepting their biological limitations. Mary Shelley’s Dr. Frankenstein intended to discover the building blocks of life and instill it into a man, but he ended up creating the well-known Frankenstein monster. Dr. Frankenstein tampered with nature, or “God’s domain”, and created what he had not intended: an inhuman, dangerous creature. Shelley’s objective was to show that it is morally wrong to ‘play god’ and upset the natural order of the world, like what Dr. Frankenstein had done in order to attempt to create the perfect man. Real perfection is found in nature, through the works of mother nature and natural survival of the fittest, not by tampering with the natural order of the world. Lewis Thomas stressed this by stating that modified humans, like Frankenstein, are not real humans, as they have no values or purpose, no unique factors which make up a human being, and no soul. We need to cut our reliance on GE before it dominates the human race by producing soulless human lives.

Geneticists have encountered several risks from genetic engineering. According to biologist Scott F. Gilbert, the reason why genetic engineering is unsafe is because “viral vectors used to bring the DNA into the cell may cause lethal immune responses or even tumors. When genes become inserted into the genome, they may disrupt the functional genes and cause mutations”. This was especially seen in genetically engineering experiments on laboratory mice. When geneticists began experimenting on cloning animals, they experienced even more failure. The failure rate for cloning is extremely high, ranging to be 96% to 99%. However, if the cloned animal did happen to survive, it is guaranteed that that animal will have problems during later development, because cloned animals tend to have abnormally large organs which can cause breathing and blood flow problems, as well as kidney and brain malfunctions. If geneticists cannot successfully genetically engineer animals, why should they experiment on humans? It is clearly unsafe and dangerous. Humans should not be treated as part of a deadly lab experiment, and should not try to exceed their biological limitations by furthering genetic engineering.

THE GMO CRISIS

Our reliance on genetic engineering is dangerously increasing everyday. GE has already taken over our food supply, through our crops and animals. These genetically engineered crops and animals are called “genetically modified organisms”, or GMOs, and we consume these GMOs, without realizing or knowing potential harmful side-effects. We simply just assume that these foods are safe to eat, but they have only been on the market since 1994, and studies have shown that GMOs are not 100% safe.

Valid health concerns exist regarding human consumption of GMOs because there is absolutely no proof that long-term consumption of GMOs is safe. For instance, GM foods may cause an alteration in metabolism, inflammation, kidney and liver malfunction, reduced fertility, produced toxin, provoke immune reactions, and the possibility of creating brand-new allergens. In addition, according to the article “GM Food Nightmare Unfolding In The Regulatory Sham”, GMOs have “synthetic genes and gene products new to evolution which could be toxic for humans and other animals or provoke serious immune reactions”.

Genetically modified chickens are fed genetically modified corn. This corn is designed to make their breasts bigger, so they produce more meat. Basically, the corn injects growth hormones into the chicken… to the point where the chicken cannot even support its own weight on its feet (hence why several chickens collapse and are forced to remain stationary).

In the picture above, you can see the difference between a naturally grown chicken and a GE chicken. Although the GE chicken produces more meat, is it safe to consume? Studies have shown that there may be side effects from eating this genetically engineered chicken. When one consumes this GE chicken, there is a possibility that this person contains those unnatural growth hormones.

Recently, people have been becoming more knowledgeable about the potential harm GMOs can cause for one’s body and have been taking action to prevent GMOs from taking over our lives. For instance, in Gahan Wilson’s political cartoon, “Food Fight”, Wilson uses a satirical tone to ridicule humans’ ignorance when consuming GMOs. He argues that the advances of genetic engineering are harmful by anthropomorphizing genetically modified foods, as they rise against humans who resemble monsters, or unnatural creatures, lacking human qualities and expression. Wilson’s objective was to show how humans who consume genetically modified foods are, in reality, genetically modified humans. He is trying to warn the public about how the consumption of GMOs is harming humans.

Wilson, along with other anti-GMO advocates, has intensified the debate on genetically modified foods, and individuals all over the world are beginning to rise against the consumption of GMOs. Countries all around the world, such as Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, China, and South Korea, have demanded for GMOs to be labeled on their packaging or containers, hoping to discourage individuals from consuming GMOs, thus decreasing the demand for these foods.

Unfortunately, the United States has not yet required GMO labeling. In fact, the United States is probably one of the only industrialized nations that has not taken action against the growing threat of GMO foods. The reason for this is because huge American food companies, especially Monsanto’s, constantly fight against GMO-Labeling, fearing that GMO-Labeling will decrease their profits.

Already, 14 states have proposed GMO-Labeling, but a majority of these proposals were ignored or shut down. However, finally, Hawaii and Vermont took the lead in legally requiring GMO labeling. GMOs remain inside of us forever, and everyone should be concerned of its detrimental health effects. We cannot let billion dollar food corporations dictate our lives by taking away our right to know what we put into our bodies.

Not only do GMOs affect human health, but they also negatively affect the environment. In order to produce GMO foods, more chemicals are required, which contaminate our water and air. There is an increase of more than “500 million pounds of herbicide and 19 million pounds of pesticide” being sprayed on our crops and into our environment. According to the President Cancer’s Panel, these chemicals are the reason why 41% of us will experience cancer in our lifetime. In result of this massive increase of herbicide usage, there has been an emergence of herbicide-resistant weeds.

These uncontrollable weeds, or “super-weeds”, have infested “farm fields and roadsides, complicating weed control for farmers and encouraging use of increasingly toxic and more dangerous herbicides”. Through the use of these dangerous herbicides, our drinking water supply is contaminated, our soil’s vitality is damaged, and even more health risks are posed to consumers and farmers. GMOs are threatening the safety of our environment and people need to prevent them from becoming the future of our lives.