Brown 1
Sara Brown
Professor
ENC1102
30 April 2021
More now than ever, questions of whether a product is artificial or natural are on the
rise. Present day, an increasing number of organizations and producers are now using GMOs as
the forefront of their products. In short, according to an article in the Non-GMO Project, a GMO
(genetically modified organism) is “a plant, animal, microorganism, or organism in which their
genetic build had been altered using either genetic engineering or transgenic tech. In doing so,
this creates a mixture of plant, animal, and bacterial genes that don’t occur traditionally
through nature.” The author of this article which is found on the page of a countrywide seal
named the Non-GMO Project overall wrote this information on the site to inform people about
the GMOs, what they are, and how they affect the bodies of organisms. Whereas some people
in the United States would prefer to not know what they are eating and how bad it is for them,
putting a detailed list of all the GMOs that are in the food that is consumed will help show the
people of the U.S who are not aware of the danger of what they are putting into their bodies
and how they will be affected in the future.
Before diving into how these GMOs effect the human body, the negative effects of
GMOs on the environment need to be addressed. First, GMOs can affect the biodiversity in the
environment. A genetically modified bee is just one example of how these organisms can
Brown
2
disturb the biodiversity in ecosystems. With this bee, they can transport pesticides and
herbicides along with DNA into diverse environments. When the new plant is grown, it too will
be genetically modified along with any more plants that encountered the bee before growing
fully. Toxins can be released into the soil under the plants which can lead to a quick death for
majority of that plant life. Another issue with these genetically modified organisms is that one
species can become stronger than the next and end up overpopulating areas, which would lead
to more issues such as an ecosystem not being diverse and certain animals not having food to
eat because of scarcity. Thinking even further, if those animals who are running short of food
are forced to leave their homes or areas, they may be harder to find and even harder to obtain
for humans (such people who buy and eat animals from the wild). GMOs are proven to increase
the growth of weeds and plays into farmers buying and using more and more pesticides daily.
Using many pesticides plays into a bigger problem that we face, and many people don’t address
as well, which is the depletion of the ozone layer. On the other end of the rope, we have
humans who are overall affected by GMOs. Many people like to apply the act of following the
common trend when doing things and see that the food isn’t harming the person eating it and
just decide to eat it themselves. When talking about controversial topics such as GMOs in food
products. Statistics show that GMOs, in the long run aid to defects in the bodies functioning
system and is also linked to cancer. It’s time to start labeling items containing GMO products. A
few numbers of states in the U.S. (Vermont, Connecticut, and Maine) have begun to make
labeling their products that contain GMOs to be mandatory. Other countries such as China,
Australia, and the European Union already require that the GMOs be labeled, while the U.S.
does not require this. According to an essay directly created by a group of students at Purdue
Brown
3
on why GMO food should be labeled in the food industry “is because it is clear some consumers
want to know what they are eating, and they have a right to know what is in their food.?) GMOs
should be labeled because we shouldn’t have to guess what is in our food. We should be able to
read the label and know what is in the food we are eating.” As bad as it does sound, it is true,
majority of the people in the world go through numerous food items weekly and don’t know
much about the products that make up the item itself.
Just the sheer thought of millions of people daily, consuming products containing
GMO’s which can eventually harm your health in the long run without their knowledge is
horrible. People should first off become educated on what they are putting into their bodies, so
they are making sure they aren’t harmed when consuming genetically modified foods or using
