Across party lines, religious beliefs, and social justice concerns, there’s a debate raging; regardless of the typical partisan dividers that separates issues, the debate of genetically modified organism (GMO) use crosses party lines and finds both opponents and supporters from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. The debate of GMOs has spanned decades, while use of GMOs has (in America) increased. When it comes to GMOs, many have strong opinions one way or another, however, there are significant pros and cons to our current use of genetically modified organisms.
PROS
In a world that is constantly striving for the most efficient and beneficial way to accomplish tasks and meet goals, GMOs are the answer. GMOs provide a solution to the difficulties of growing plants in areas with droughts, infestations, and disease; some even consider GMOs as a vaccine for plants and animals. Using the power of modification, plants and animals can become tastier to the human palate; fruits and vegetables can become sweeter! Genetically modified foods can also be packed with additional vitamins and minerals, which can especially help in developing countries or in areas without access to necessary resources. GMOs, however, come with their own list of downfalls as well.
CONS
While there are many beneficial reasons to promote the use of GMOs, there are also a few unfortunate consequences of our current mainstream use of them. GMOs have, and are foreseen to have, a negative impact on our precious environment; crossbreeding between weeds and GMO plants has become a large issue. Crossing breeding between GMO plants and natural plants often results in more resistant weeds which then creates a greater need of pesticides and GMO plants (it become a never-ending cycle). While GMOs are known to negatively impact the environment, they have also shown to have no recognizable economic value. GMOs have also proven to increase allergies in humans, which can impact all aspects of food consumption depending on the diet of livestock and how plants are grown. Along with allergies, health risks such as cancer and tumors have shown to be a possible result of a diet high in genetically modified organisms.
While genetically modified organisms have shown to product both strong positives and negatives, not enough research has been conducted to know the extent of the negatives. As our generation ages, our knowledge of the impacts of GMOs grows. Unless more research is completed, it is difficult to more accurately predict the environmental, health, and social impacts caused by GMOs. Regardless of opinion, the impacts of genetically modified organisms are something to keep in mind while selecting food and products; remember that we all vote with our dollars.
