Amid a flourishing world of capitalism, poverty, population expansion, and economic crisis, there also exists the world of food. As humans, we eat to live, and sometimes live to eat, but what has happened in recent history to humanity’s favorite pastime has turned everything on its toes. Introducing: GMOs. GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms are, as the agrochemical and agricultural powerhouse of a company Monsanto defines, “plants or animals that have had their genetic makeup altered to exhibit traits that are not naturally theirs.” The World Health Organization throws in their two cents describing the robot plants as “organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally.” Gone are the days of the lounging ancient Greeks who were dangle fed organic grapes containing no hints of pesticides. Farewell to the cowboys of the Wild West who were able to confidently consume the added-hormone-free meat of their cattle. We have now entered a new age. Food is no longer mere livelihood or supplement—it is big business. In fact, the business has become so big, that buying local item at a supermarket is practically impossible. Inevitably, with big business comes greed, deception, and even moral detriment. Genetically modified organisms are the result of large corporations greed that effects can be felt universally—from the white-collar family, to the poor and starving.
“Genetically Engineered Foods”, “Genetically modified organisms,” or GMOs, are organisms that have been created through application of transgenic, gene-splicing techniques that are part of biotechnology. These transgenic methods for moving genes around are also called “genetic engineering,” or GE.
Playing with the genetics of plants and organisms is a relatively new science. This is how the process works: scientists take DNA (genetic material) from one species and artificially introduce it into a totally unrelated organism. This creates transgenic organisms with combinations of genes from plants, animals, bacteria, and even viral gene pools. The mixing of genes from different species that have never shared genes in the past is what makes GMOs and GE crops so unique (or—cough, cough—unnatural). There is no possible way to create the same output through traditional cross-breading methods. Genetically engineered foods open a whole new realm of unforeseen possibilities.
GMOs are, in fact, changing the world—but not for the better. Many argue the benefits of GM crops as expanding job growth, decreasing world hunger, and feeding a growing population. While those ideas sound all fine and dandy, the facts just don’t seem to back them up.
It seems like common sense that consumers have the right to know what goes into the foods they are eating. It is law, after all, for companies to list their ingredients and nutritional information on their containers. So, why then, are American consumers still being kept in the dark on their GMO purchases?
Since the mid 1990s, an increasing number of countries have adopted labeling policies for genetically modified food. The first labeling policies were introduced by the European Union (EU) in 1997, but since then over 40 other countries, including Australia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Japan and China, label genetically modified foods. The United States is currently not on that list. However, Americans want to see GMOs labeled. Polls show that more than 9 of 10 Americans want defined designation of GMOs. The demand for branding transparency has greatly increased, yet nothing has changed .
The so-called most important meal of your day, unfortunately but it has also fallen victim of the GMOs giant. The most common genetically engineered ingredients–corn, soy and canola oil–find their way into 70 percent of popular processed foods like breakfast cereal, cookies, chips, soda and frozen meals. But that’s not enough. Now, biotechnology companies are lobbying the government to let them market new crops and a genetically engineered fish. Sadly enough, this will probably happen. Gross.
“Oh, but they’re perfectly safe! No one has died… yet,” says the nameless Kellogg’s funded GMO researcher. Despite that convincing argument, the long-term safety of genetically engineered foods has not been proved. All government agencies need to approve GMOs infiltrating American supermarket shelves are a few quick studies involving short-lived laboratory animals. These studies cannot determine the long-term consequences when humans eat genetically engineered foods throughout their entire lifetime. Some scientists have documented their observations of changes in their animal subjects’ metabolism who were fed genetically engineered foods, however no one is funding that route of research.
GMOs harm biodiversity and also encourage a new strain of weeds that are extremely difficult to uproot. Many genetically engineered crops are engineered to withstand high doses of pesticides. Not even a bucket of Roundup could kill Dole’s weakest GMO tomato. The nonselective process of planting these crops plus the inevitable use of the pesticides associated with them has led to pesticide-resistant superweeds. A vicious cycle thus ensues where farmers use more and stronger pesticides to combat superweeds but the weeds learn to resist, and even stronger pesticides must then be used on our “fresh foods”. Not only that, but genetically engineered crops and their partnered pesticides also harm the beneficial insects that roam the crops. This includes butterflies. Butterflies, guys... I mean, come on, what did they do to you?
One thing GMO advocates stand strongly by their technology for is its potential to solve world hunger. Yet here we are, in the year 2014, with a starkly opposite reality. After nearly two decades, genetically engineered crops have failed to make any meaningful difference for the hungry. Instead, GMO crops drive out locally adapted crop varieties that are suited to particular soils and climates, undermining sustainability and resilience of local farms around the world and contributing to hunger globally.
Genetic engineering hasn’t ended hunger and has no hopeful prospect of doing so. These foods, then have no value other than to make substantial amounts of money and provide business to those with a greedy appetite. Genetically modified or engineered foods only hurt, and do not help, consumers across the nation. While other countries have pushed away these unnatural practices, the United States embraces these foods, blindly pursuing them towards their people. It seems that as time goes on, the prospect of returning to the blue-skied, wild America that once existed—where cowboys and Indians eat their organic crops in peace—fades farther and farther away.
