Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms whose cells have been altered in a laboratory. This is done to seeds to produce stronger crops that are easier to grow, resistant to strong pesticides and less expensive to produce. Though you may not realize it, GMO foods are all over U.S. grocery stores. Unless you are personally associated with the farm that grows your food, or your market has noted the items they sell are not modified, there is a good chance you are eating GMOs.
Health Dangers
A study by the International Journal of Biological Sciences found a link between GMO corn consumption and organ failure in the kidney and liver. There might also be a connection between GM food and problems with the spleen, heart, adrenal gland and haematopoietic system. Analysis of the study led scientists to believe the problem was due to the pesticides used on the GM corn. In another study conducted by the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2005, mother rats were fed GM soybeans. The babies of the rats which were fed genetically modified soy flour had a mortality rate six times higher than that of rats raised with feed from conventional soy. Babies that survived experienced poor growth, sterility and stunted growth.
Super Insects
Another effect of GMOs is the development of insects resistant to pesticides. In the past, one application of a strong pesticide killed bugs and pests that fed on crops. Though the pesticides effectively protected the crops from bugs, they occasionally damaged the produce. GM seeds were created to handle strong pesticide applications that are applied several times. This has resulted in insects building a tolerance to these pesticides.
Uncertainty
There are no long-term studies concerning GM food. Even if the effects of GMOs on rats are not the same for humans, there is no way of knowing if, over time, eating GM foods will cause health problems. Medical professionals believe diets comprised mainly of unnatural ingredients and chemicals may be harmful to health, but no one knows how to classify GM foods in terms of nutrition.
In addition to health uncertainties, there is a lack of awareness when it comes to what on the shelves are actually GM products. There is no regulation in the United States concerning the labeling of products as modified. Consumers have no way of knowing if something has been modified, or in the case of meat and dairy, whether the animal was fed a GM diet.
Lack of Control
Control over the corruption of non-GM crops is another negative aspect of GMOs. GM soybean crops produce sterile beans. Plants are pollinated in an indiscrimate process. When cross-pollinating occurs with farms that produce non-GM products, the seeds from those plants become sterile, too. There is no way to control the spread of the sterility genes, so non-GM plants are at risk for becoming extinct.
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