Genetically Modified Food?

Genetically modified food is food that has been engineered to have certain traits. GMOs have
their advantages and disadvantages when it come to the environment. They help farmers with
their crops, feed many poor people, and use less resources and chemicals when tending the crops.
Some disadvantages will be how it can affect our health, bodies, and other poor countries. Then
how GMOs affects our environment in our soil, animals, and drinking water.
GMOs help our crops in many ways. To begin with we change our crops DNA to make them
stronger by making them last longer and have better nutrition. For example, corn is the most
important and widely grown grain in the US and with GMOs it gives it a better texture, flavor,
nutrition, and last longer on the shelf. This means that we can have food on the shelf longer than
throwing it away, but still get the nutrients we need after they been out for a long time. This way
we can feed more people because were able to give them a long lasting supply of food with more
nutrients than before. Another piece of evidence for helping farmers crops is, A gene from the
grey mangrove, Avicennia marina, has been genetically implanted into a tobacco plant, making it
able to tolerate salt stress as well as showing tolerance to other ionic stresses. They put in genes
from another plant or animal so it can last in harsher condition. Then we can have farms to grow
any kind of plant in any harsh weather. Next is GMOs help farmers in Asia produce more rice for
the people and help them produce more money to support themselves. According to the
organization IRRI they say, We ensure that GMO rice production is stable and sustainable, does
minimal harm to the environment, and can cope with climate change. Improve the nutrition and
health of poor rice consumers and rice farmers. This means that using GMOs can help the poor
farmers have an easier time harvesting their crops. Theyll have more to work with than having
less to sell and can help the people eating it get more nutrients than the original food. Plus they
can have crops that cope with the weather so they dont have to struggle as much. A final
example is the GMOs can help in using less resources when tending the crops. According to
Kristie Swenson, a farmer from Trimont, Minnesota she says, We can have healthy that can
survive in a change of the weather and keep the bugs away. But also we use less chemicals and
natural resources when taking care of our crops. From what I see she uses less chemicals and
less natural resources when the crops have a certain gene in them. Her corn can stay healthy and
not be affected by a certain diseases thats spreading. Also shell use less water when the weather
changes for the worse and wont have to use toxic pesticides anymore. All of the evidence that I
provided here explains what are the advantages of GMOs. They help our crops grow stronger
and last longer, help support the poor farmers, and use less resources when taking care of the
crops. (Our mission. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2015, from http://irri.org/about-us/ourmission,GMO Foods. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2015, from
http://findourcommonground.com/food-facts/gmo-foods/)
Furthermore GMOs may have some advantages, but they also have their disadvantages. One
good example of a disadvantage is how it can affect our health. According to the article
GMO:Harmful Effects they say, Most of the plants that humans consume produce toxins at

levels low enough that they do not produce any adverse health effects. There is concern that
inserting an exotic gene into a plant could cause it to produce toxins at higher levels that could be
dangerous to humans. From this piece of evidence I can tell that we dont know the toxic things
we are creating. Inserting a type of gene could be helpful for some time,but if other genes in the
plant become damaged during the process it could cause the plant to produce toxins. Then a food
that was so important to us becomes toxic we couldnt use it anymore. Then in the same light
another disadvantage is how it affects our bodies. An example of this is our allergies in the same
article they say, Food Allergy affects approximately 5% of children and 2% of adults in the
U.S. and is a significant public health threat. If the novel protein in a GM food comes from a
source that is known to cause allergies in humans or a source that has never been consumed as
human food, the concern rises. From this piece of evidence I can tell that this can be a
dangerous problem. If someone was not allergic to a certain food then consumed it could result
as a close death experience. Instead of creating a better food that will have better nutrition it can
hurt us back. Then well have to be more careful when eating and growing our food. A final
piece of the disadvantages of GMOs is how it can affect other poor countries. In an article they
state that under developed countries becoming more dependent on other communities. According
to them they say, Golden rice, a genetically modified rice that contains larger amounts of
vitamin A, is beneficial to poor people in developing countries. However, crop engineering will
increase the dependency of poor countries. This is saying that it does help people,but it is
expensive to study and create GMOs and if they stop, the country wont know what to do later
on. Theyll be use to the crops that can grow in harsher conditions that when they are ready to be
on their own they cant grow the original crop from before. The country should know what to do
when the crops fail and learn to get around. This will make farming easier, but what if we stop
using GMOs what will they do if they have to go back to the old ways that they arent use to.
Also what about growing toxic food that has strange effects. When we help the poor farmers
grow better food they might spread a disease to the people buying it. To sum all of this up the
disadvantages of GMOs are they can affect our health by being toxic, affecting our bodies by
causing an allergic reaction that could kill us. Last they affect poor countries by getting them to
forget how hard it really is to farm. Then we say GMOs cant be used theyll struggle when
trying to support themselves. (Ten disadvantages of genetically modified food. (n.d.). Retrieved
March 14, 2015, from http://pioneerio.hubpages.com/hub/geneticallymodifiedfood, GMO:
Harmful Effects. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2015, from
http://enhs.umn.edu/current/5103/gm/harmful.html)
In addition to those advantages and disadvantages we have our issues with the environment.
The first instance that comes to mind is how it affects our soil. According to an article they say,
The presence of Roundup, Bt bacteria, and other GMO byproducts in our water and soil have
shown that these chemicals actually degrade and deplete soils of vital minerals and beneficial
bacteria, both of which protect crops from pests, viruses, and other threatening elements. In
other words this article says that GMOs actually destroy the important minerals for crops.
Without these important chemicals in the soil the plants cant protect themselves, instead of

helping crops we are hurting them even more. Theyll be left defenseless to die or might mutate
to become toxic. In addition to the GMOs affecting our soil they also harm animals that eat them.
According to the institution for responsible technology they state that, Mice eating GM corn for
the long term had fewer, and smaller, babies. More than half the babies of mother rats fed GM
soy died within three weeks, and were smaller. Most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to
have babies by the 3rd generation. In other words eating GMOs for a long period of time can
change our cell or genetic material to not function. This would cause a problem because if they
affect animals this badly how would it turn on us? People would be afraid of eating these food
because they don't want to harm their children. Then also it would hurt are animals by making
them more extinct because the food they eat could kill or change them. Most compelling is that
GMOs are harming our drinking water. GMOs contain carcinogenic chemical known as
glyphosate has been found to be contaminating the groundwater in areas it is being applied in.
Researchers discovered that 41% of the 140 groundwater samples taken from Catalonia Spain
were actually above the limit of quantification., according to Anthony Gucciardi. I look at this
as a very serious issue because our earth is full of water and less than 1% of it is drinking water.
If our water is starting to be polluted and undrinkable how are we going to survive. Many
creature need water to survive and if they are dying of eating GMOs what good will come. Also
many places on earth dont receive a lot of water or only have a little bit. Then when it gets
polluted how are those villages or countries going to survive. Another thing about glyphosate is
that it can kill an adult in as little as 30 grams have been linked to conditions such as hormonal
disorders, lymphoma, DNA damage, endocrine disease, skin cancer, kidney damage, and liver
damage., according to Anthony Gucciardi. This raises so many problems if our own water can
kill us and cause many diseases. Due to all of these reasons GMOs affect our environment badly.
It hurts our land, animals, and drinking water.(Monsanto's Carcinogenic Roundup Contaminating
Water Supply. (2011, December 15). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from
http://naturalsociety.com/monsantos-carcinogenic-roundup-herbicide-contaminating-watersupply/, Seven ways GMO toxicity affects animals, plants and soil. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14,
2015, from http://www.naturalnews.com/038792_GMO_toxicity_digestion_cancer.html, Institute
for Responsible Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from
http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers)
In conclusion GMOs have their advantages and disadvantages and how they impact our
world. The advantages are hey help with the crops, feed people, and use less resources and
chemicals. They help the poor farms feed their family and have an easier time taking care of
them. Then the disadvantages are how affects our health, bodies,and other countries. They can
turn harmless plant into toxic things, give more people allergies that they didnt have before, and
make countries depend more on the GMOs. Last is they affect our environment by hurting our
land which is destroying the important minerals that help the crops protect themselves. Also were
harming the animals when the eat the GMOs for long periods of time. They have smaller babies
or they cant produce babies anymore. Then we start to worry how it will affect us and our
children. Last is GMOs can polluting our drinking water that can kill us. If this happen we

wouldnt have clean drinking water and the chemicals going into the water can cause harmful
diseases. In the end Genetically Modified Food can help many people,but can harm us if were
not careful on how we use them.

Bibliography
Benefits of GM Food:. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from
https://classes.soe.ucsc.edu/cmpe080e/Spring05/projects/gmo/benefits.htm

Genetically Modified Crops. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from

http://www.greenfacts.org/en/gmo/index.htm?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Press

GMO Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/

GMO Foods. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from http://findourcommonground.com/foodfacts/gmo-foods/

GMO: Harmful Effects. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2015, from

http://enhs.umn.edu/current/5103/gm/harmful.html

GMO Quick Facts: What, Why, Where. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/gmo-quick-facts-what-why-where

Institute for Responsible Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from
http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers

Monsanto's Carcinogenic Roundup Contaminating Water Supply. (2011, December 15).

Retrieved March 14, 2015, from http://naturalsociety.com/monsantos-carcinogenic-roundupherbicide-contaminating-water-supply/

Our mission. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from http://irri.org/about-us/our-mission

Seven ways GMO toxicity affects animals, plants and soil. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015,
from http://www.naturalnews.com/038792_GMO_toxicity_digestion_cancer.html
Ten disadvantages of genetically modified food. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from
http://pioneerio.hubpages.com/hub/geneticallymodifiedfood