Disadvantages Of Genetically Modified Foods

Children are going blind in Africa, masses are suffering through diabetes, thousands of people are dying because they did not receive enough nutrients; diet is the controlling factor of life. Not every person receives enough food to survive, and with a steadily growing population, food production must grow in time with the demand. Organic farming is getting rarer as it is too expensive; fields covered in chemicals are becoming more common, but the chemicals are harmful to the environment and consumers.. GMOs can solve the problems of both types of farming and they can help the millions of people in need of proper diets. GMOs are genetically modified organisms, or an organism whose genome has been changed by the techniques of genetic engineering …show more content…
“In the late 1980s, the University of Hawaii began developing a papaya cultivar resistant to Papaya Ringspot Virus. These new, genetically modified papaya plants are no longer susceptible to infection, allowing farmers to cultivate the fruit even when the virus is widespread” (Papayas). The virus stunts the growth of the fruit and decreases its value. Because the genetically altered papayas’ genes can resist viruses, plant needs less chemicals to stay virus free. By implanting one gene into papayas, there are less chemicals and less Ringspot Virus in all of the papayas with altered genes. Another benefit of genetically engineered foods is the boost in vitamins and nutrients. Dr. Gerard Berry, International Rice Research Institute’s golden rice project leader, has produced a rice that will provide 60% of a child’s vitamin A needs in only one bowl (Charles). “‘Golden rice will be good for everybody, but some people need it more,’ Barry says. ‘Our job is to make sure that [those] people have access to it, understand the value of it, and ask for it’” (Charles). Golden rice can help all people with vitamin A deficiencies, but specifically it will assist African children who develop night blindness from a lack of vitamin A in their first few years after weaning off breast milk. GMOs can serve as an act humanitarianism. Genetically altered foods help farmers and consumers …show more content…
The entire world can prosper by using GMOs. Poor countries can greatly benefit from the farming of GMOs. Genetically altered crops in those countries can be engineered to provide more nutrients per serving effectively raising the quality of life in vast numbers. In other countries, where diabetes run rampant, organisms’ genomes can be changed to provide a natural, and almost renewable, source of insulin. GMOs are not only restricted to foods; in the future bacteria may be engineered to produce a natural medicine. There is still much to learn about GMOs, but scientists will keep trying to perfect our food. With our knowledge of GMOs still developing, there is no knowing what can be done, but it is possible to think GMOs will have a hand in changing the world’s view on