Stop GMO Today

Genetically Modified Organism [GMO] is truly one of the (1most critical issues) in the world today. GMOs are special organisms whose genetic material has been altered to ensure improved productivity and also improve on quality. The history of GMOs dates back from the 1860s when an Australian monk systematically varieties of garden peas (Livinghistoryfarm.org, 2015). Today, more than ever before, GMOs have been studied from experiments used on plants, humans and animals. GMOs have increasingly raised concerns about their wide range of benefits in that they are resilient to diseases, help people suffering from famine, produce a high level of yields and equally improve the nutrition of foods. GMO foods have largely spread throughout the world that makes it hard to stop its proliferation because they have been proven to have harmful effects on the human body. Other controversial effects include increased levels of toxicity and are a hazard to the environment which has resulted in major concerns being raised.

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Support has been rallied behind the (2application of GMO) in fields such as agriculture because they accrue many benefits to the farmers. Moreover, biotechnology has helped to make both the management of insects and pest control as well as weed management way easier. This is according to a publication by the Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo (2015) where they also argue that genetically engineered insect-resistant cotton has allowed for a high reduction in the application of persistent synthetic pesticides that may ultimately contaminate groundwater and the environment. Well, his may be true, but these insects will become adapted to insect-resistant plants over the years so that the farmers will end up spending much as compared to conventional farmers. When a variety GMO corn called SmartStax was plotted against conventional seeds, it was found that the conventional corn farmer saved approximately $81 per acre per season. These findings were according to the Kim (2012) where the research was carried out by Aaron Bloom, farm consultant with a business called AgriWize.

To some people, GMO application is a good way to (3feed the hungry by developing new beneficial types of food). Findings by World Food Programme shows (Usda.gov, 2015), poor nutrition, causes nearly half of deaths in children. Especially for children under the age of five in a population of 3.1 million children yearly and are weakened by lack of vitamin A. However genetically engineering of the genes in foods such as rice help bring these numbers down by creating a new kind of rice with a high nutritional value. Golden rice is an example of an engineered crop to produce the b carotene that is pro-vitamin A. The mention of golden rice may sound persuasive at first, but the idea has fallen flat due to its slow development. This is because the time of discovery, approval and marketing of a new biotechnology crop trait is estimated to be an average of 13 years. The reason behind this is that there is no way to prove that the use of this new gold rice is safe for consumption by humans.

Genetically Modified crops have been greatly forced on the world by biotechnology multinationals who seek to (4monopolize their products). After the Green Revolution, most agricultural countries increased their productivity and changed to mechanization of agriculture to rely highly on petroleum industries (Wfp.org, 2015). Even if agriculture production has risen, it is subjected to multinational rule. Such companies include Monsanto, Novartis and Aventis. These companies have been associated with the manufacture of chemicals that directly harm the environment. For example, Monsanto developed herbicide roundup, roundup ready soybeans that only work on the roundup and the company accrue lots of profits from them. When farmers purchase roundup, they also have to purchase the soybeans. These roundup ready soybeans use a high percentage of herbicides as compared to now- GM plants. The GMO application has been highly criticized for its negative impact on the environment. Not only has the GMO application created immune pests but also pollutes the soil with Glyphosate, which is a non-selective herbicide that kills most plants and prevents them from making certain proteins that are vital for plant growth. GMO companies such as Monsanto are well known for selling this Glyphosate with their genetic engineered crops to farmers that accelerate the poisoning of soils. Such companies that develop GMOs are unreliable. The trailer of the movie bought tells a story of how Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturers Association [GMA] successfully blocked GMO labelling laws in over thirty states with a price tag of more than $100 million between the years 2012 and mid-2014. That is why the Monsanto is labelled unreliable to produce foods for consumption by humans. According to a study by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine [AAME] (Npic.orst.edu, 2015), safety measure was issued against GMOs due to its abundant harmful effects such as food allergy reactions, indirect and non-traceable effects on cancer rate and failure of the immune system. Some studies support the negative health impacts associated with GMOs. For example, a study steered by Dr. Arpad Pusztai at the Rowett Research Institute in 1998 showed that the feeding GM potatoes to rats ultimately led to a failure of their immune systems (Psrast.org, 2015). The other research that was published in the New Scientist at Purdue University clearly showed that releasing a transgenic fish into the wild could destroy the native population to the point of extinction (Modern Farmer, 2013). It is, therefore, evident that GM foods are a hazard to humans.

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) voices its concern of the GMOs by saying that GMO crops pose untold (5serious risks to ecology in 2000) because these crops contain plant incorporated pesticides (Bt toxin) that kill useful insects and the plant produced toxin as it grows. They also stated that GM crops have a disastrous effect on the organic farming more so in light of increased pollution.

In conclusion, to prevent the application of GMO, people should be widely educated on its dangers. It is purported that sharply, and accuracy awareness creation is vital for people to recognize the harmful effects of GM foods to human health, the dangers of GMO application to the environment and the hidden agendas of multinational manufacturers. Also, all GM foods should be labelled to ensure adequate protection of nationals against potential risks associated with consuming these foods.

It is crystal clear that these foods are not a healthy choice. We only have one planet to live on, and we should not tolerate unnecessary experiments on organisms. GMOs has not been successful with farmers and so to feeding the hungry. If we continue to support unreliable companies like Monsanto to think GMO is the only way to go, we will be remembered as inhuman by the generations of the future.

References

Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo, S. (2015). USDA ERS - Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S.. Ers.usda.gov. Retrieved 13 December 2015, from http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us.aspx

Kim, R. (2012). Consumer Attitude of Risk and Benefits toward Genetically Modified (GM) Foods in South Korea: Implications for Food Policy. Engineering Economics, 23(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.23.2.1548

Livinghistoryfarm.org,. (2015). The GMO Age Begins. Retrieved 13 December 2015, from http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe70s/crops_10.html

Modern Farmer,. (2013). The Post-GMO Economy - Modern Farmer. Retrieved 13 December 2015, from http://modernfarmer.com/2013/12/post-gmo-economy/

Npic.orst.edu,. (2015). Glyphosate General Fact Sheet. Retrieved 13 December 2015, from http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/glyphogen.html

Psrast.org,. (2015). World renowned scientist lost his job when he warned about GE foods - The Pusztai case. Retrieved 13 December 2015, from http://www.psrast.org/pusztai.htm

The Non-GMO Project,. (2015). GMO Facts. Retrieved 13 December 2015, from http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/

Usda.gov,. (2015). U.S. Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 13 December 2015, from http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahom

Wfp.org,. (2015). Hunger Statistics | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide. Retrieved 13 December 2015, from https://www.wfp.org/hunger/stats