With the development of technologies, there are more and more effective ways to produce food which is indispensable, taking into account the vigorously growing population of the Earth that has not ever been that much so far. One of those techniques is genetic engineering. What is genetic engineering itself? It is the process of using recombinant DNA technology to alter the genetic makeup of an organism. To put it simply, genetic engineering involves various methods that enable us to manipulate genomes of living organisms in order to improve the nutrient value of corns or increase their capacity to withstand unfavorable weather circumstances, including lack of precipitation, droughts, or shortage of sunlight. Even though GM food, which stands for genetically modified food, brings solutions to numerous global problems (malnutrition, difficulties in the cultivation of traditional corns because of ecological issues), it remains a theme of an ongoing debate regarding its questionable effects on people. There is too much information on the Internet that twists the truth. As a result, people’s opinions have become imbued with fallacies, and their attitudes to GMOs are mostly negative. Consider the fact that although about 90 percent of scientists believe GMOs are safe — a view endorsed by the American Medical Association, the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the World Health Organization — only slightly more than a third of consumers share this belief. In addition, in the latest development, resistance to a second weed killer, 2, 4-D, has been combined with glyphosate resistance. Although the combination product, called Enlist Duo, was approved in 2014 by the Environmental Protection Agency, 2, 4-D has been linked to an increase in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a number of neurological disorders, researchers reported in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Thus, the issue matters not only for a group comprising of a few individuals but the whole society. Giving an explicit insight into GMOs would result in certainties about what society consumes on a daily basis and debunk any myths that state GMO modifies our DNA, causes toxicity, even damages reproductive organs, and other nonsense. There is a bunch of people that believe in such distortions. For example, approximately 40 % of Americans assume that genetically modified products possess a high risk of impairment of a human body compared to organic food. It occurs inasmuch as a fifth (19%) of the nation is not informed about this concept whatsoever, and besides, above a half (52%) knows little. Hence, the issue is because of a lack of awareness among the consumers. It has to be immediately addressed since unless we take on a responsibility, the fallacies will remain. Moreover, it is crucial for producers that their product is trusted as it increases consumption, therefore, making their business and a whole country’s economy prosper. According to the above, the motivation for the researcher (me) to take this topic has been to raise awareness of people about GMOs and prove any viewpoints disapproving of the breakthrough wrong.
Are genetically modified foods safe to eat?
