A Little More Knowledge About Genetically Modified Food-Rebuttal

Disadvantages to Genetically Modified Foods

            Many people have consumed a genetically modified food without actual knowledge to doing so.  With over 80 percent of the food grown in the United States being genetically modified, I’m pretty sure that everyone has at least had one encounter with a GMF.  Whether it was intentional or unintentional, we have all had some type of experience with this food.  So if we’re eating something that could potentially harm us as well as the environment shouldn’t we be aware?  Well many environmental activists, religious organizations, and public interests groups have all raised concerns about GMFs.  These concerns fall into two basic categories: environmental hazards and human health risks.

            The first concern, environmental hazards has a lot to do with cross-pollination and reduced effectiveness of pesticides. When geneticists engineer a genetically modified species, it doesn’t just stay in the lab to look pretty; they actually send it on its way to do its purpose.  So therefore, it’s outside amongst other species that were not the victims of gene transfer.  Even though many species have nothing to do with gene transfer, they are still affected by the process of pollination.  For example, a lab study was published in Nature that shows how the pollen from a genetically engineered species of B.t corn, caused high mortality rates in monarch butterfly caterpillars.  Yes, I know caterpillars eat milkweed, not corn; but the pollen from the B.t corn was being introduced to other species of plants by the wind and other insects which caused cross pollination amongst many species.  And unfortunately, for the caterpillars, as well as other larvae species, B.t toxins act indiscriminately; it cannot be altered.

            The next concern that is held in high regards is human health risks.  Many people, especially children, have developed life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods.  So if geneticists are taking different genes and introducing them to species that aren’t of any relation to the gene, then couldn’t that create new allergies?   My answer is yes, it could and they could be life-threatening as well because if they took a gene from a peanut and inserted it into a strawberry then there will be no possible way of knowing that this has occurred since GMFs are not labeled.  Another concern that is associated with this process is the fact that many effects on human health remain unknown.  There have been many experiments that have been introduced to rats, and that has caused them to suffer from toxicity as well as alterations in their genetic makeup.  In other words, we are eating foods that leave human health in the unknown as well leave us for being live species in a scientists’ petri dish.

            So when will be informed of the potential disaster that could possibly happen when faced with GMFs? We honestly cannot say because like I said earlier, it’s as though we ourselves are being looked upon as specimens in a petri dish.  Scientists are just waiting to see the outcome of their delightful experiments and so far no one has been able to do anything about it.