For those of you who don’t already know what gmos are, they are modified organisms whose genetic material has been altered to contain segments of DNA from different organisms. Of the organisms that are being altered these include crops, plants and even animals.The reason behind editing their genes are for beneficial reasons to either the consumer or producer. Some of these including either improved protection against insects, how long it takes for the product to spoil, how fast it can mature and they can also improve the taste of the organism being modified. The most common Gmo foods are Soy, Corn, Cotton, and canola. There are many positive and negative effects of GMOs but I think people should have the knowledge to decide for themselves whether …show more content…
It’s important to talk about because a great percentage of the foods people eat are genetically modified. Currently in the U.S 85% of corn, 91% of soy, and 70% of all processed foods are genetically modified.There’s been lots of contradiction to it, some people saying that it has no harmful effects on the body and others saying it causes cancer, stomach inflammation, new allergies and other things like that. Studies have been done and the number of food allergies has doubled since 1996 with the introduction of GMOs. Not only that but scientists also have found traces of insecticide from genetically engineered crops in a pregnant woman's bloodstream. GMOs shouldn’t be seen as necessarily a bad thing though, lots of scientists have done studies and found no direct correlation between genetically modified organisms and cancer or other life-threatening …show more content…
Out of all the negative effects of GMOs, the environment is one of the most concerning to scientists and the public. One of the most concerning things is toxicity. Toxicity is a really big issue concerning chemical pesticides and herbicides used with GMOs, not only that but GMOs can be toxic to animals that are good for the environment, some of these being bees or butterflies. Bees are very important in pollinating many food crops but their population size is steadily decreasing, some of it due to modern agriculture technologies like genetically modified crops.It’s not just bees that are at risk though, it also affects the ecosystem around it. When genetically modified crops are planted most heritage seeds are no longer used, this results in less nectar for pollinators. Through the plants roots toxins are released into the ground getting rid of lots of soil bacteria that are needed to maintain healthy soil to help plants, trees and other things to grow without the help of a chemical fertilizer. Nutrients aren’t returned to the soil from genetically modified crops, meaning that the soil becomes very dry and loses lots of its’ nutrients, which are very crucial to the growing process. From this, a cycle of dependence on GMO seeds and chemical fertilizers are created, pesticides, and herbicides are then made just so that they can grow one crop. Adding on to the soil problems, irrigation used to grow