Can We Stop GMO's?

GMO's are spreading like wildfire and now is in 70% of the food in the U.S alone. With GMO's spreading so fast, it may take over all of our food whether some people like it or not. Here's a article talking about why.

http://everything-pr.com/genetically-engineered-crops-cannot-be-controlled/242878/

The Science of Genetically Modified Food

Now all of this talk about GMO's says that these organisms can change the context of a crop in order to help it, but how does this process work? Here is the science behind it

Gentically Modified Fungi is good?

If you want to know the degree of how gmo's can change something, here is a link to an article about a genetically modified fungi that is said to make cheaper biofeul.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/genetically-modified-fungi-to-produce-cheaper-biofuel/1124378/

13 Reasons

GMO's are good but it comes at a certain price. Some researchers have questioned on the safety, ecological effects and economic considerations of these GMO foods.

Here are 13 reasons why GMO's are bad:

1.  Allergy- Most of the adverse reactions is due to the proteins in those food stuffs. Transfer of genetic information from one organism to other leads to a new set of proteins. These might impart or increase allergic properties to the food which was previously safe for consumption. 
    

2.  Resistance to antibiotics- Genetic engineers trust antibiotics for experiments. Excess of antibiotics will probably result into antibiotic resistant pathogens.
   

 3.  Exposure to pesticides- The majority of genetically modified crops are designed to contain a sequence for chemical resistance. 
    

4.  The unknown effects- Genetic material from a foreign body can cause host to behave unpredictably. Genes are often suppressed or over-expressed, inflicting a good type of results. Over-expression of certain hormones and chemicals might lead to cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. We are yet to grasp all the potential advanced interactions of the complex DNA. 
    

5.  Many outcomes are unnoticed. Study showed that the sequence inserted into soybeans transferred into gut bacterium which may have serious implications such as over-production of toxin, allergen, anti-nutrients and carcinogens.
    

6.  Resistant weeds- Food crops from genetically changed seeds will have an effect on the weeds that grow within the same space. Weeds will access the changed genes that build the crops resistant, and when some years the weeds themselves will become resistant. This means that a lot of chemicals will be required, which may have an effect on the security of the food crops once consumed. 
    

7.  High plant estrogens- Glyphosate applied to create crops proof against weeds causes higher plant sex hormone levels which affects all mammals together with humans.
    

8. Negative interactions- With genetically changed foods, there is always a risk of reactions or interactions that has never been seen such as interaction between two totally different food items with changed genes or among food and various kind of drugs. 
    

9.  No future analysis- Genetically changed foods haven't had future analysis done and have short term info. 
    

10.  Genetically altered food isn't tagged- There's no labelling on these foods which is one of the largest dangers associated. 
    

11. Higher fat content in some modified food. When these GMO foods were provided as food stuff for cows, they produced fat rich milk.
    

12. Certain modified potatoes when fed to rats caused cancerous cell growth in the GI tract and inhibited brain, liver growth. GM tomatoes also resulted in the death of few rats due to stomach lesions. Bt corn had severe effects on cells, kidneys and liver of experimental rats.
    

13. The workers those were exposed to Bt cotton gathered new allergic reactions on their skin, respiratory tracts and eyes while sheep died after grazing these Bt cotton field. Many studies showed that even inhalation of Bt cotton pollen triggered skin and respiratory reactions.

Myths and Truths

Here are some Myths and Truths about genetically modified foods that you may not have been clear about

GMO increase yield of crop and help everyone in the process !

GMO's are inserted into crops in order to protect it from certain bugs, weeds, and weather. By implainting these gmo's into the crops, we are doing just that. In my previous post i said that GMO's can be harmful, BUT there is no actual evidence that they truly are as harmful as people have made out to say. With all this said, the use of GMO help to benefit not only farmers by increase the amount of yield of crop that the grow and have to sell, but also the consumers due to the fact that things like mangoes are now being put out in grocery stores in the winter to be sold. GMO products are very highly regulated and thoroughly tested before they are released to farmers to raise as a crop giving consumers the benefit that they safe to consume. They have helped reduce the amount of inputs that farmers use in the production of those crops. Having a crop with built-in insect and herbicide resistance means fewer herbicides or insecticides are needed, thereby reducing the amount of crop protection products that are applied to the crops. Also, some of the emerging varieties are drought resistant, meaning they can grow with less water and still produce. Others contain oil improvements, meaning the crop produces healthier vegetable oils for consumers all over the world. This will be a big help in producing more crops to feed an ever growing world population. We have seen crop production increase on less land because of these GMO's on less land. We are able to raise more and cheaper crops to keep food prices down for everyone.

Dangers of GMO....continued

In my previous post, David Suzuki talks about the fact that it is dangerous to genetically modify food. By taking the DNA of one subject and switching it with another, there is no way for anyone to predict the exact outcome of what is going to happen. This dangerous concoction is something that most of us consume everyday. Companies  are now inserting this into our food without us knowing by not labeling their products to let consumers know whether the product is GMO-free or not.

Here is a link to an article that further talks about the danger of GMO's. It states that the mircoRNA (ribonucleic acid) in GMO's are finding their way into our bloodstream which can change the way a human cell can function

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/01/the-very-real-danger-of-genetically-modified-foods/251051/