In today’s markets, consumers are getting a lot more than they bargain for when they buy food. A considerable amount of food and food products on grocery store shelves contain GMOs. GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, refer to any crop, animal, or organism that has been genetically engineered or modified in some way. These crops and organisms have been genetically altered in a lab to have a certain quality or characteristic that they typically do not have in nature. GMOs have become so prevalent in today’s society that, according to the Non-GMO Project, around 80% of all processed foods in the United States contain GMOs (“GMO Facts”). This is very important because GMOs are not always labelled on consumer products, and therefore these
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Although most Americans are not too concerned with the quality of food that animals are consuming, it can have a direct impact of the quality of food that humans are consuming. Animals are one of the main components of the food industry, and their health should be of great importance since humans are consuming their meat and other products such as milk. Even though this should be a concern, their health is not being regularly monitored. Doctor Mercola stresses that there have been no animal feeding tests funded by the food industry that have lasted longer than a 90 day period; any previous tests that have been conducted have not been long enough to gather accurate information. The first “independently funded lifetime feeding study” revealed adverse health effects-- such as cancer, organ damage, and more -- that occurred in animals after they consumed animal feed containing GMOs (Mercola). This is extremely alarming. If GMOs are causing extremely harmful side effects to animals like organ damage and even cancer, they can certainly affect humans in a similar way. Vandana Shiva, an Indian Scholar and environmental activist notes that one study even found that dairy cows who consumed genetically modified soybeans, which have been proven to disrupt hormones, produced a milk with a much higher fat level than cows that were fed organic soybeans (Shiva). Obviously, more studies should be done to …show more content…
It is a huge misconception that genetically modified organisms are needed in these developing nations because they are believed to increase crop yields, which could eventually resolve world hunger. However, this is not the case. In reality, these third-world countries become dependant on the genetically altered crops, and they are no longer able to function without the aid of GMOs. Miguel Altieri, a professor of agroecology at the University of California, explains how important it is for these developing countries to become self-sufficient. In order to increase self-sufficiency, they should improve their own domestic agricultural systems to increase their food production and feed their growing populations (Altieri). This is extremely important considering that these third-world countries are new to the world market, and they cannot afford to become dependant on another nation selling them GMOs. Furthermore, according to the United Nations, GMOs are not even needed to feed the world. They even went as far to say that GMOs did the opposite of what they were intended for, as they were seen to decrease yields and increase the need to rely on agricultural chemicals (Smith, “Genetically Modified…”). Obviously, these genetically modified crops are doing more harm than good. Not only are these developing countries becoming dependent on genetic engineering, but it is actually decreasing their crop yield.
Although most Americans are not too concerned with the quality of food that animals are consuming, it can have a direct impact of the quality of food that humans are consuming. Animals are one of the main components of the food industry, and their health should be of great importance since humans are consuming their meat and other products such as milk. Even though this should be a concern, their health is not being regularly monitored. Doctor Mercola stresses that there have been no animal feeding tests funded by the food industry that have lasted longer than a 90 day period; any previous tests that have been conducted have not been long enough to gather accurate information. The first “independently funded lifetime feeding study” revealed adverse health effects-- such as cancer, organ damage, and more -- that occurred in animals after they consumed animal feed containing GMOs (Mercola). This is extremely alarming. If GMOs are causing extremely harmful side effects to animals like organ damage and even cancer, they can certainly affect humans in a similar way. Vandana Shiva, an Indian Scholar and environmental activist notes that one study even found that dairy cows who consumed genetically modified soybeans, which have been proven to disrupt hormones, produced a milk with a much higher fat level than cows that were fed organic soybeans (Shiva). Obviously, more studies should be done to …show more content…
It is a huge misconception that genetically modified organisms are needed in these developing nations because they are believed to increase crop yields, which could eventually resolve world hunger. However, this is not the case. In reality, these third-world countries become dependant on the genetically altered crops, and they are no longer able to function without the aid of GMOs. Miguel Altieri, a professor of agroecology at the University of California, explains how important it is for these developing countries to become self-sufficient. In order to increase self-sufficiency, they should improve their own domestic agricultural systems to increase their food production and feed their growing populations (Altieri). This is extremely important considering that these third-world countries are new to the world market, and they cannot afford to become dependant on another nation selling them GMOs. Furthermore, according to the United Nations, GMOs are not even needed to feed the world. They even went as far to say that GMOs did the opposite of what they were intended for, as they were seen to decrease yields and increase the need to rely on agricultural chemicals (Smith, “Genetically Modified…”). Obviously, these genetically modified crops are doing more harm than good. Not only are these developing countries becoming dependent on genetic engineering, but it is actually decreasing their crop yield.