There are many foods that have been genetically modified. How many do you know of?
Did you know Cottonseed? Canola oil? Alfalfa? Papaya? The earliest these foods
have been GM (genetically modified) was 1994. (gmoinside.com) We should have the
right to know how and why there are GM foods. There have been many reasons why
they were changed by mankind. The range of reasons goes from pest-resistant to
faster growth to requiring a less amount of environmental resources. What people
overlook is the risks and side effect, which I will shed some light on.

Most people don’t bother to look at labels. They might say, “That’s for nutrition freaks.”
However, you then don’t know what goes in or out of your foods. Here’s is an example
of what they do to tomatoes to create an insect- resistant thing. They first cut the gene
and insert the resistant bug gene, then copy the gene into bacteria. Next they load
“Vector-Coated” particles into a gene gun and shoot it into the plant cells where it is put
into the plant’s gene pool. After that they put the creations into a platter and allow to
grow into plants called tomatoes. (learn.genetics.edu) My solution is to educate the
people! Teach them what it means to be a GMO. Also there should be food labels so
people at least acknowledge it.

It is said that GMO was first introduced in 1994! Before that though there was
research leading up to GMO going on the shelves of local grocery stores. In 1980 the
GMO patent was created and it lead to the FDA approving GMO. The first thing was
Humulin, which was insulin produced by engineered E. coli bacteria. Next came GM
tomatoes that ripened after picking, then years later came weeds resistant to
Glyphosate. Studies showed those weeds were 11x resistant than other plants. In
1997 the European Union made it mandatory for all GMO foods to have labels on them.
(gmoinside.com) This isn’t just an American problem. There were studies of risks
and all around the world.

In Quebec they found that Bt toxins in the blood of a pregnant women goes to the baby.
(gmwatch.org) Bt toxins are bacteria that releases toxins that kill insects. This is a
synthetic chemical that modern farmers use all around the world and it is the most
used biological pesticide. It can be sprayed onto crops or added into the DNA. It is a
very aggressive toxin that kills bug in a violent way by making their stomachs burst.
That way caused many researchers to explore those effects on humans. Pure Bt
harms the digestive system by attacking normal cells and therefore burning holes into
the intestines. This causes “Leaky gut syndrome”. (globalhealingcenter.com) There
are also studies that show that Bt has an effect on the lungs and other organs. Not
everyone has these symptoms, why? Some people do get Bt poisoning. Bt is related
to B. cereus which causes food poisoning. There was a study of 49,000 food samples;
B. cereus was found which was because of Bt. Foods that contain Bt pose a risk of
damage to the digestive system. Researchers found it in pasteurized milk, ice cream,
juice and green tea. (globalhealingcenter.com)

Regular GMO foods could also harm you. It could cause allergic reactions. “Allergic
reactions in humans occur when a normally harmless protein enters the body and
stimulates an immune response (Bernstein et al., 2003). If the novel protein in a GM
food comes from a source that is known to cause allergies in humans or a source that
has never been consumed as human food, the concern that the protein could elicit an
immune response in humans’ increases.” (enhs.umn.edu) Basically this is saying that
if someone is allergic to something in one plant and it is put into the second plant,
through the GMO process, and the person eats the second plant, they could have an
allergic response. This is a quote I found about increased toxicity from GMOs. “Most
plants produce substances that are toxic to humans. Most of the plants that humans
consume produce toxins at levels low enough that they do not produce any adverse
health effects. There is concern that inserting an exotic gene into a plant could cause it
to produce toxins at higher levels that could be dangerous to humans.” (enhs.umn.edu)
Of course these are all concerns and aren’t proven but they are very valid points and
could be true if people were interested in what goes into their food. The same web
site goes on to add decreased nutritional value and antibiotic resistance to the list of
concerns. When he added decreased nutritional values he says that it is proven that
GMO soybeans have a decreased amount of a chemical that helps protect against
heart disease and cancer than traditional soy beans.

There is a quote that highlights why there is no concrete evidence for GM harm on
humans. “It’s very very bad science, we assume that the principals governing the
inheritance of genes vertically applies when you move genes laterally of horizontally.
There’s absolutely no reason to make that conclusion- Geneticist David Suzuki”
(lybio.net) He is saying that, the scientists that are messing with the genes in our food,
have no reason to test if the food is harmful to humans or even edible is because they
are only combining food genes, that is the fault in GMOs. They don’t know if it is
harmful or good because they have never tested it. You might say the FDA has
approved it though. Yes, they have approved the use of genetic engineering but, they
said, “They are not much different than regular food so there is no need and should be
treated the same” (collective-evolution.com) How do you know they are “not much
different”? Because you assume that because you have only used other food genes,
that it is ok? You should never assume something that might and could quite possible
change our bodies in a harmful way.

So overall, there should be a law passed that says that every container of food that
has GMO foods in it, must be labeled. They do that in Europe so why not here? It is
because the companies don’t want it on there in fear of the marketing consequences.
Which would you rather have? Natural or GM?

Bibliography
“Bt toxin found in blood of pregnant women and fetuses”. Mazaya Theme. Web. May
15, 2015. gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/13047-bt-toxin-found-inblood-
of-pregnant-women-and-fetuses
F. Edward Dr. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN, DCBCN, DABFM, “Dr Groups Natural
Health Organic Living Blog”. What is the Bt Toxin?, July 22, 2013. Web.May 14, 2015.
globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/what-is-the-bt-toxin/
“Genetically Modified Foods”.Genetically Modified Foods. Web. May 14, 2015.
learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/science/gmfoods/
“GMO Dangers”Institute for Responsible Technology.Web.May 14, 2015.
responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers
“GMO: Harmful Effects”. GMO: Harmful Effects. Web. May 14, 2015.
enhs.umn.edu/current/5103/gm/harmful.html
“LYBIOnet Is A Movement For Internet Online Accuracy For Speeches Text Words
Quotes and Lyrics”. David Suzuki Speaks Out Against Genetically Modified Food. Web.
May 14, 2015. lybio.net/david-suzuki-speaks-out-against-genetically-modifiedfood/
people/
Walia, Arjun. “Collective Evolution RSS”. Geneticist David Suzuki Says Humans “Are
Part Of A Massive Experiment”. Nov. 25, 2013. Web. May 15, 2015.
lybio.net/david-suzuki-speaks-out-against-genetically-modified-food/people/
Woolsey, GL. “GMO Inside”.GMO Timeline: A History of Genetically Modified Foods -
GMO Inside, March 10, 2013. Web. May 14, 2015. gmoinside.org/gmo-timelinea-
history-genetically-modified-foods/