Genetically Modified Foods -- Pros and Cons
By Benjimester
Genetically Modified Foods -- Pros and Cons
In the modern world, the question of genetically modified foods is becoming more and more urgent, and the pros and cons of the issue must be weighed in order for nations to make educated decisions in the future. This is very important because the decisions we make as nations will determine the future of our food supply. Not only that, but the decisions we make as individuals, whether to buy genetically modified foods or not, will also effect the outcome of this issue. A nation is nothing more than a group of individuals, and a group of individuals who take a stand on an issue can change the way of the future. So what are the pros and cons of genetically modified foods? I think the pros are easy to see. Let's discuss them first.
Pros of Genetically Modified Foods
- Faster Growth -- The biggest pro of genetically modified foods is the ability to grow faster, bigger crops. In a world of many billions of people, the number growing everyday, genetically modified foods can offer the chance to eliminate starvation. At least that's the claim. In a perfect world, more abundant food means less starvation. But that's in a perfect world.
- Eliminating Weaknesses -- Another big pro in genetically modified food is the ability to eliminate weaknesses in the genetic chain. In many crops, fruits, and vegetables, weaknesses against certain types of disease and insects often exist. One of the big pushes in genetically modified foods is to try and alter the genetic code of the plant so that the weakness is eliminated, making the plants much less susceptible to damage by insects and disease.
- Disease Control -- Certain diseases are able to be mitigated through use of genetically modified crops. This helps farmers ensure that they don't lose crops to diseases that once had the potential to bankrupt farmers.
- Allergy Control -- Common allergens are able to be eliminated through genetic engineering which helps more people enjoy the great variety of foods out there.
- Drought Resistance -- Genetically modified foods are often bred to be heartier and more resistant to things like drought than regular crops. This gives them the ability to endure things that other crops cannot.
Cons of Genetically Modified Foods
- Unknown Side Effects -- Many genetically modified foods seem to react to the body in negative ways. GMO crops have been demonstrated to raise a person's risk for certain types of cancer and other illnesses.
- Corruption of the Food Supply -- GMO companies sometimes modify crops in such a way that it poses potential dangers for the whole human race. For instance, the corporation Monsanto has created genetically modified plants that do not self replicate. This means that farmers must buy new seed from the company each year in order to replant. Though this is a good business model for the company, it has the potential to cause a catastrophic food shortage if the right set of circumstances came about.
Further Cons of Genetically Modified Foods
Just ask yourself this question: why do we even need GMO food in the first place? The United States government for a long time has been subsidizing farmers, paying them not to grow crops in an attempt to increase the cost of food in grocery stores and let them stay in business. Why in the world then, do we feel we need to modify crops genetically in order to make them bigger and grow faster?
The second question you should ask yourself is how much can you really trust human influence? Doesn't our wealth of human experience teach us that humans eager to make a buck usually cause problems. Should we really be trusting large corporations with our food sources? The example of the company Monsanto mentioned earlier is perfect. Their seeds which do not have reproductive capabilities have been labeled "Terminator Seeds." Many people are very scared that if these seeds are allowed to take over the market, that normal food will disappear forever. Do we really want to allow a corporation the ability to mass proliferate crops that become extinct after one season of growing, all so they can make more money? Doesn't that sound like a very potentially dangerous situation?
Genetic Modification and the World
In the opinion of many, genetic modification is just a way for large corporate farms to make even more money. There's really no need for it because all of the arguments about more food production and less starvation in the world isn't true. The United States alone has the capacity in land value and farms to feed the whole world. That's without genetic engineering or genetically modified foods. The reason it doesn't happen isn't at all because of a lack of supply, but because of politics and other factors. The reason there are many starving in the world is because world pressure isn't very strong to force the dictators of impoverished nations to do anything about it. Genetically modifying food isn't the answer to this problem. As for the other benefits of genetic modification, these are too few to think about when considering the potential dangers of letting corporations alter our food sources for their own monetary gain. I refer again back to the example of the Terminator Seeds. Putting ourselves in that situation is just plain stupid.
Comments
Thanks Tamarajo! I agree with those who say better safe than sorry. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Genetically modified food and hormones in the milk,(just to name a few things) are all a hazard to our food supply and to nature. Monarch Butterflies were affected by genetically modified plants. What is the real cost of this interference in nature? WE need to stop letting big corporations profit when it benefits them more than us.
Well done hub. Rated up
That's very true. I didn't cover that in this article, how other life in nature might be affected by our tampering with food sources. Just because we're at the top of the food chain doesn't mean our actions won't affect those beneath us. Thanks very much for pointing that out.
Genetically modified food is not safe in my opinion. The purpose of genetically modified crops is to make them resistant to Mon Santo's herbicide weed killer Roundup. Correct me if I am wrong. My understanding is, Roundup can be used to kill weeds, but not kill crops. The problem is this, our food source will have been contaminated with the herbicide weed killer Roundup, which is not safe. I try to buy locally and organic produce whenever possible. Thanks for another good article. Teresa
I agree wholeheartedly. I don't see any need or reason to genetically modify our food sources. It's all greed if you ask me. Thanks very much for your comments.
I am doing a project in school on why we should use GM crops. Honestly, I am not sure who i agree with. I agree that we need to make some serious changes, but I do think that GM crops could be a good thing in the future. For example- putting an arctic fishes gene in tobacco plants to let help them grow in colder climates. Thats way smart. I agree that it needs to be researched more. Who knows what GM crops are doing to our bodies. Still, world hunger is still a huge problem that needs to be solved, and needs to be solved quick because of our quickly growing population. I think that we should use GM crops, but with the proper testing. For the most part, GM crops have not been tested at all! Thats just scary. Until they are tested and have all of the kinks worked out, I do not think we should be eating them as much as we are.
banderson, I agree a lot with what you're saying. Proper research and testing is key and anything that can help alleviate world hunger is a great thing. The main application I don't like seeing GM crops used for is when big corporate farms use GM crops to squeeze little family farms out of business because they can't compete. That's all. Thanks very much for your input. I hope the rest of your research goes well.
I agree with you 100% as a kid i started working on farms at about 7 years old. I grew up in a very small town with not the greatest childhood. My parents did not have a lot of money so my and my brothers all worked on farms. I loved farmwork. Nothing better than working with your hands. The only sad thing is that about a third of the farmers I worked for no longer farm. Granted GM crops did help a few of the farmers I worked for. One of the farmers I worked for started planting GM crops and regular crops a while back. Now, he is living it pretty good because it ended up making him a lot of money. I do agree with you though. I think that there needs to be a lot more regulations on how GM crop companies are now becoming monopolies. It all depends on how you take it. Like most things in this world, some people get it rich and some people get the shaft in almost every deal.
Yeah, that's really the bottom line for me too I guess. I support whatever practices that help the little guy compete with the big corporate farm. Some would call that an anti-progress stance, but we've seen it demonstrated many times that the quality of food is always lesser using corporate farming methods than using the methods of small-time farmers. Things like the fertilization methods of corporate farms to only replenish the soil enough to make crops grow again the next year, but not enough to make the crops nutritionally full of vitamins and minerals. You don't find those sorts of things happening often with small-time farmers. Thanks very much for your input and for coming back.
im a 15 year old. to tell the truth i really didnt care where my food came from. but then for school we had an assignment to find out.Now Im just as convinced as all of you, genetically engineered food has no good income. In a documentary i saw, it talked about all pros and cons of genetically engineered food. After seeing that im actually trying to be a vegetarian! when a month befor i was eating a burger from mcdonalds. If someone as young as me can see how dangerouse this is, then how come no one has made a move?
i completly agree with you but really instead of sitting here waiting for something to happen either make a stand or... and i mean this in the nicest way possible... GET A LIFE!!!!!!!!!!
:) Quite right. That's good advice for all.
GREAT HUB, I just wrote one on GMOs myself. Keep up the great work.
Thanks man. GMOs are a good topic to write about these days.
Thanks for info.
GREAT help on my science homework thanks guys :)
That's what we're here for :)
Thanks for your article! It really helped me a lot - I'm really interested in this topic and have to do a huge speech about it in school. I'm from Germany and it's the first time I post something on hub, so I don't really know if you do post questions, but I got one: Why do you think should we care about the orign of our food concerning GMO?
Hey Sina. Thanks! About your question. The main reason why I personally am concerned with foods containing GMOs is because when we give human beings the ability to alter our food supply for their own financial gain, they're going to do whatever makes them the most money, not what's best for the food supply. GMO corporations have already shown that they're willing to take potentially dangerous risks with the food supply just to make a buck. That sort of thing scares me a bit.
Benjimester - two thumbs up for bringing on this enlightening discussion!
As scientist who has genetically manipulated laboratory organisms for years, the geeky side of me finds this technology very "cool" and I can certainly understand the pro arguments for it. (As scientists, we always want to have a justification for doing what we do.)
However, that being said, scientists really have no way of predicting or testing long term affects of something at this scale. And for that reason, I have HUGE concerns about GMO crops and agriculture. They will undoubtedly have some profound affects not only on our environment but potentially on our health in negative ways that we cannot at this point predict. I believe there are already signs that GMOs are starting to influence insect genetics and in turn creating new classes of "super bugs" - similar to what's going on with the overuse of antibiotics that has led to evolving super-microbes.
Countries outside the U.S. have already taken a strong stance on GMOs and I hope that these types of discussions become more mainstream in the U.S. What goes into our food supply should be of concern to all.
Kris, thanks so much for your comments. It's great having an actual scientist comment on the issue. I totally agree with you. There are surely some profound unknown effects of modifying crops that will affect our environment for many years to come. That's scary to hear that GMOs might be leading to superbugs. Yikes. Thanks for bringing that up. That's good for people to know.
excellent hub, thanks for posting it!
Sure, thanks for stopping by!
well,i think these things effect us in the long run.
i plant things in my backyard and it tastes wayyy batter than the stuff i buy at the supermarket.
Totally. Homegrown is definitely the way to go. There's not comparison. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for the post, i'll be using this in an essay :D
Sure, thanks for stopping by.
Would like to use your information in a research paper. Can you send your sources for this information?
Hello Benjimester, I have a question? Is Benjimester your real name, if not could you tell me your real name so I can cite you properly on my report?
Hey man. Yeah my first name is just Ben. My last name is Mester. I don't know if I'm the most credible person to quote though. But I hope the report is awesome!
Tamarajo 20 months ago
and who knows how genetically altered food affects our dietary needs. I agree when man tampers with things there is always some negative consequence on the other end of it.
I also agree with why your starvation theory as well.