Introduction
Genetically Modified Organisms, otherwise known as GMOs, have been used in various food products and will, more than likely, continue to be used in the future. Research and development on GMOs has been going on for over 30 years and has sparked a lot of controversy. The controversy is mainly due to people’s opposition to their food products being genetically tampered with for commercial gain. This is because GMOs use genetic modification to produce new varieties of plants with certain qualities, such as being more resistant to viruses or pesticides.
This report covers information regarding GMOs in agriculture and what the future holds for GMOs. I have written this report so that the consumers are aware of what GMOs are and how …show more content…
Increase in Nutritional Value – The decrease in price not only makes GMO foods more widely available to people with lower incomes, GMOs can also have the added benefit of having more nutritional value. For example, there are some GMOs like Golden rice that have Vitamin A which can solve the issue of Vitamin A deficiency in Asian countries [4].
Disadvantages of GMOs
Despite the advantages of GMOs, it also has a great amount of disadvantages for which the controversy of GMOs stems from. Yet, GMOs cannot all be labeled badly because they should be considered on a case by case basis, however there are some common disadvantages that all GMOs do have which are listed below. These disadvantages are followed by a brief explanation for each.
1. Unknown Long-Term Health Impacts – As of today, there has been no signs that GMOs are harmful or detrimental to human health. In fact, according to “The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the World Health Organization and the…European Union agree that GMOs are just as safe as other foods.” [5]. However, it has been determined that the inconclusiveness of the safeness of GMOs cannot be determined because of contradictory scientific data …show more content…
However, the United States has a very flexible law regarding the release of GM foods into our food supply. The United States does not require that GMO foods be labeled and it is just an optional decision left to biotechnology companies. Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only make sure the food is safe and safety testing on genetically modified foods is optional “as long as the new product is not "significantly different" from its traditional counterpart” [11].
Conclusion
Genetically Modified foods have been in use for over 30 years and have had a lot of controversy surrounding it. GMOs have a lot of advantages but they also have a lot of disadvantages which is why there has been a lot of debate over it. Thus, consumers should be made aware of what GMOs are so that they can make informed options about the consumer goods they are purchasing. This is because GMOs are more than likely going to be used for years to come for things like battling world hunger to battling plant diseases.
Genetically Modified Organisms, otherwise known as GMOs, have been used in various food products and will, more than likely, continue to be used in the future. Research and development on GMOs has been going on for over 30 years and has sparked a lot of controversy. The controversy is mainly due to people’s opposition to their food products being genetically tampered with for commercial gain. This is because GMOs use genetic modification to produce new varieties of plants with certain qualities, such as being more resistant to viruses or pesticides.
This report covers information regarding GMOs in agriculture and what the future holds for GMOs. I have written this report so that the consumers are aware of what GMOs are and how …show more content…
Increase in Nutritional Value – The decrease in price not only makes GMO foods more widely available to people with lower incomes, GMOs can also have the added benefit of having more nutritional value. For example, there are some GMOs like Golden rice that have Vitamin A which can solve the issue of Vitamin A deficiency in Asian countries [4].
Disadvantages of GMOs
Despite the advantages of GMOs, it also has a great amount of disadvantages for which the controversy of GMOs stems from. Yet, GMOs cannot all be labeled badly because they should be considered on a case by case basis, however there are some common disadvantages that all GMOs do have which are listed below. These disadvantages are followed by a brief explanation for each.
1. Unknown Long-Term Health Impacts – As of today, there has been no signs that GMOs are harmful or detrimental to human health. In fact, according to “The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the World Health Organization and the…European Union agree that GMOs are just as safe as other foods.” [5]. However, it has been determined that the inconclusiveness of the safeness of GMOs cannot be determined because of contradictory scientific data …show more content…
However, the United States has a very flexible law regarding the release of GM foods into our food supply. The United States does not require that GMO foods be labeled and it is just an optional decision left to biotechnology companies. Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only make sure the food is safe and safety testing on genetically modified foods is optional “as long as the new product is not "significantly different" from its traditional counterpart” [11].
Conclusion
Genetically Modified foods have been in use for over 30 years and have had a lot of controversy surrounding it. GMOs have a lot of advantages but they also have a lot of disadvantages which is why there has been a lot of debate over it. Thus, consumers should be made aware of what GMOs are so that they can make informed options about the consumer goods they are purchasing. This is because GMOs are more than likely going to be used for years to come for things like battling world hunger to battling plant diseases.