It’s been one of the hottest topics in the media in recent years. The food industry has been using Genetically Modified Organisms, or better known as GMO’s, as their main crop yield to feed to the public. For those that don’t know what a genetically modified organism is or what it means, I’ll elaborate. A GMO is an organism that has been genetically modified using genetic engineering. The food industry is a key role player in this particular engineering technique to harvest our vegetable and fruit crops. Though there are seemingly many benefits to the genetic altering engineering that is being done to our food, such as the crops being more resistant to herbicide, resistant to insects, and increased nutritional value, studies also show that GMO’s have been linked to increased carcinogens and even birth defects.
The fact that the government and the FDA approves such substances to be incorporated in our foods should raise alarm. With such side effects, much of the public has signed petitions to put a ban on the use of GMO’s and to also enforce policies that mandate companies to label their food as either GMO or non-GMO. Another downfall associated with the GMO industry is the impact it has on local farmers. One of the biggest most well known biochemical companies, Monsanto, is largely responsible for the production of the GMO seeds used to grow such crops. Because they have control over the seeds and have political power in the farming industry, they have more of a hand in politics and powerful lobbyist that are able to get what they want. If this keeps up, we can expect to see more and more diagnoses of cancer and food will no longer be the food we’re used to eating. They will be clones of the real fruits and veggies we once knew to be real. Still, organic is, hands down, the best way to go. It may cost more, but your body will thank you.