Proposition: GMO products needs to be regulated, and product packaging needs to be labeled.
Introduction:
When we buy food we expect that what we buy is what it says it is. But now what if I tell you that the tomatoes or cabbage you buy also includes scorpion poison in it? Would you still eat it if it was properly labeled with what it contained? Now what if I tell you that this was common with all our food supplies. Scary isn’t it? What I’m talking about it GMO or genetically modified organisms. The World Health Organizations defines genetically modified organisms as “organisms in which the DNA has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination.” Basically what that means is genes for things like drought or insect resistance are found in other organisms like bacteria, or even frogs and insects. Then scientists “shoot” this DNA into plant cells, which incorporate this DNA into their own. Right now this all probably seems a little confusing but I’m going to explain to you why genetically altering organisms could be potentially wrong …show more content…
For example The New England Journal of Medicine did a study that showed when soybeans were engineered with a gene from a Brazilian nut, people with nut allergies had severe reactions to the products the soybeans were in. Without proper testing or product labeling, people with food allergies could be at a huge risk with anything they buy since it’s estimated almost 80% of all processed food has GMO products in it. A second risk with food allergies is the possibility of creating new ones. When inserting foreign DNA into an organism there is no way to tell how that organism is going to react when incorporating this DNA into its own. Altering an organisms DNA could create thousands of new and different allergic responses. Some of the negative side effects scientists have found out are very subtle, and almost impossible to
Introduction:
When we buy food we expect that what we buy is what it says it is. But now what if I tell you that the tomatoes or cabbage you buy also includes scorpion poison in it? Would you still eat it if it was properly labeled with what it contained? Now what if I tell you that this was common with all our food supplies. Scary isn’t it? What I’m talking about it GMO or genetically modified organisms. The World Health Organizations defines genetically modified organisms as “organisms in which the DNA has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination.” Basically what that means is genes for things like drought or insect resistance are found in other organisms like bacteria, or even frogs and insects. Then scientists “shoot” this DNA into plant cells, which incorporate this DNA into their own. Right now this all probably seems a little confusing but I’m going to explain to you why genetically altering organisms could be potentially wrong …show more content…
For example The New England Journal of Medicine did a study that showed when soybeans were engineered with a gene from a Brazilian nut, people with nut allergies had severe reactions to the products the soybeans were in. Without proper testing or product labeling, people with food allergies could be at a huge risk with anything they buy since it’s estimated almost 80% of all processed food has GMO products in it. A second risk with food allergies is the possibility of creating new ones. When inserting foreign DNA into an organism there is no way to tell how that organism is going to react when incorporating this DNA into its own. Altering an organisms DNA could create thousands of new and different allergic responses. Some of the negative side effects scientists have found out are very subtle, and almost impossible to