We are What we Eat
Kaitlyn McLeod
City College of New York
Writing for the Sciences – ENGL 21003
Professor Zayas
May 21, 2021
A Worldly Crisis
Giada De Laurentiis, an American Chef, once said “Food brings people together on many different levels. It’s nourishment of the soul and body; it’s truly love” (Quote). One of the most unfortunate circumstances for the human population is world hunger. When looking at the size of the human population during old agricultural booms compared to our huge mass now, the need for valuable resources increased, leading to a decline in the supplies needed to maintain an ever expanding population. Humans were forced to adapt to a changing and expanding world, and the common means of providing shelter, adequate space, and especially food drastically changed. While most individuals don’t consider this while grocery shopping, “recent estimates from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization put the number of chronically undernourished people in the world at approximately 795 million. That means that about one in nine of the over seven billion people on Earth suffers from hunger regularly” (Wonderopolis). Essentially, this statistic highlights the call to address world hunger. With this estimate, it is necessary to question the fact that if food is intended to unite us, why is it that there is a 1:9 ratio in our world of people who are starved and malnourished?
What Has Been Done
In recent years, a scientific wave has been ignited and aimed at destroying the realities presented in the statistics. GMOs or genetically modified organisms were created by scientists to grow food that is cost-efficient at a quicker rate, in an attempt at supplying more food to the places that need it most. Experts were able to establish quality vegetative organisms that are able to withstand disease and other factors that promote decay, while also being able to limit the price of these foods, as well as, increase shelf life (Daniel, Fedoroff, Goldsbrough). GMOs have become a necessity for those in need, but a question of ethics and morale for others. Essentially, the largest debate surrounding GMOs has to do with how its consumption affects the body and the environment. Researchers and explorers canvased the world and have found the profound importance of incorporating these modified organisms in our diets, but as for the people who don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from, they question the potential side effects of altering organisms. Though there are a multitude of negatives as well as alternative methods for consuming GMOs, the pros largely outweigh the cons making the altered organisms essential to supporting and supplying resources to an ever-growing world with ever-growing needs.
Why GMOs?
GMOs have become a staple in our foods making them a part of our diets. As a result, it leads people to wonder what exactly GMOs do. In order to combat most of the plagues that affect crops and perishable foods today, scientists have been able to slightly change the genetic code of an organism and make it so that they are able to withstand varying temperatures, a variety of pest, increase nutritional value, maximize available crop space, and conserve energy, soil, and water resources amongst a variety of other positives (Gaille, Daniel). In light of the listed benefits, as well as many more, GMOs have become arguably one of the most important aspects of modern agriculture. Studies performed by the researchers at Alimentarium have discovered, “…the percentage of GMOs in world production [stand] at 83% for cotton, 75% for soya beans, 32% for corn and 26% for rapeseed”, some of the most common genetically altered organisms (Alimentarium). Ultimately, GMOs are virtually everywhere and have the ability to generate specimens tailored at combating most of the problems faced by farmers and plant enthusiasts today.
GMOs being incorporated in modern crops have cultivated a surplus of impenetrable perishable goods that could be shipped all around the world. While one of the most important and recognized benefits of GMOs has to do with its impact on the environment and the modified organisms themselves, these new and improved plants and other perishable goods have become extremely cost-efficient. This progress has allowed for developing countries to not only allow the farmers to have a net increase in revenue, but it also allows for the country itself to have a net gain in revenue. Klumper and Qaim, scientific researchers, celebrate the fact that ”on average, GM technology adoption has…increased crop yields by 22% and increased farmer profits by 68%… [and] yield and profit gains are higher in developing countries than in developed countries” (Klumper). In supplying these statistics, Klumper and Qaim urge readers to understand the economic perks of introducing and using GMOs in crops. By extension, these findings by these experts provide readers with the ability to acknowledge and appreciate everything that GMOs do for our modern crops.
Objections to GMOs
My goal is to demonstrate that all the immense positives brought forth by GMOs and their implementation into our foods should not be ignored or overlooked. Nevertheless, both experts and critics of GMOs will still proudly debate over its effect. The critics of GMOs happen to be so diverse in their views that’s it’s hard to generalize about them, but most are likely to object on the grounds that GMOs are still fairly new and their impact on an individual’s health as well as some environmental concerns, develops too many unsolved and foreseeable issues that can’t be neglected. Researchers like Meyers and Barrell often address two of the largest health concerns associated with consuming GMOs. There have been situations where the introduction of the foreign genes into the organism has triggered extreme allergic reactions and promoted cancer cell growth (Barrell, Meyers). I agree with researchers like Barrell and Meyers; introducing foregin genes to an organism is bound to create health concerns. Whereas Barrell and Meyers provide ample evidence that these new and improved genes cause problems, experts like Goldsbrough present research that convinces me otherwise. An interview with Dr. Peter Goldsbrough, Professor of Botany and Plant Pathology, was done by students who attend Purdue University, where they asked him to reassure people that GMOs pose no health risk. In the interview Goldsbrough states, “There is no data to indicate that consumption of GMOs is bad for human health. GMOs have undergone more detailed evaluation than any other group of plants that we consume” (Goldsbrough). In other words, scientists have done very detailed and focused tests and examinations of these altered organisms to assure they wouldn’t be a risk to consumers, and to fortify a level of trust between the scientist and everyone who is going to consume GMOs. Though I concede that there truly are some grey areas when it comes to how people are personally affected, I insist that in the overall grand scheme of things, the world of food would not be where it is now without the use of GMOs.
Although it is true that GMOs have maximized crop space, conserves energy, the soil, and water, and limited the use of pesticides on farms, there is still an ongoing debate regarding GMOs’ effect on the environment at large. Statistics found by the scientific researchers at BioExplorer have found that GMOs create toxins and “ too many toxins in the soil can prevent the growth of bacteria essential for plant growth. As a result, the soil becomes void of all necessary nutrients” (BioExplorer). The essence of the researchers’ arguments is to make it clear that while there are great things that GMOs do for the environment, there are an array of downfalls associated with using these modified organisms. Contrastingly, Klumper and Qaim have found that “On average, GM technology adoption has reduced chemical pesticide use by 37%…” and statistics found by Louise Gaille have shown that “…farmers have less of a need to apply pesticides or herbicides to their crops, which saves them money and potentially increases the health benefits of the food being grown” (Gaille, Klumper). This reduction of pesticide use, increases the growth rate of the bacteria in the soil making it so that the plants are actually growing being the healthiest they could be. In reality, our population is always growing and will continue to get larger as the years go on. There will always be something impacting our environments whether it be pollution or global warming. With that in mind, the benefits of GMOs, especially to the environment should not be discredited.
Alternatives to GMOs
On one hand, it is important that we think about developing countries and their large numbers of people who are in poverty, but on the other hand, The United States is a developed nation, and for the most part there is always a way to acquire food. When we go to the supermarkets, most of us have options. In retrospect, GMOs don’t necessarily have to be a part of our diets. Lately, “in the U.S., no regulations mandate that foods derived from GMOs are labeled. This is because these foods must meet the same safety standards that apply to all FDA-regulated products, and there should be no need for additional regulation”, however, as of January 1, 2020, “all foods containing genetically engineered ingredients will be labeled as ‘derived from bioengineering’ or ‘bioengineered’” (Barrell). With this new piece of legislation, everything in stores will make it clear what is altered and what is not, ultimately giving the buyer choice. My intention is not to go to war with your morals, forcing readers to pick a side, but I hope to have shed light on both the pros and cons of implementing and consuming GMOs. They make our food stronger and more resilient, but what do they really do to our bodies? Yes, GMOs have revolutionized what we eat and the way we eat forever, but is it wrong to alter something that naturally occurs in nature? With questions like these, it becomes necessary to explore your options. Due to the fact that we are so advanced as a world, there is no written rule stating that one has to purchase and consume GMOs. We have to look at how these modified organisms affect the greater good. With the strides against world hunger bringing about a food surplus and a net revenue gain for both farmers and developing countries themselves, the irrefutable benefits of these altered organisms have changed agriculture for the better, and has made it so that it is prepared to accommodate this growing world.
References
Alimentarium, R. (2017, May 29). The benefits and risks of GMOs. Alimentarium.
Barrell, A. (2019, February 27). Pros and cons of GMO foods: Health and environment.
Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324576.
BioExplorer. (2019, April 23). 6 Major Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Foods:
Biology Explorer. Bio Explorer. http://www.bioexplorer.net/disadvantages-of-genetically-modified-foods.html.
Daniel, H. (2004). Why GMOS were Originally Created. http://www.bcctg.net/GMO.html.
Gaille, L. (2016). Do GMOs harm health?
Klümper, W., & Qaim, M. (2018). A Meta-Analysis of the Impacts of Genetically Modified
Crops. PLOS ONE. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0111629.
Meyers, B. (2019). Risks & Side Effects of Genetically Modified Food.
LIVESTRONG.COM. http://www.livestrong.com/article/417880-risks-side-effects-of-genetically-modified-food/.
Quote, B. (n.d.). Giada De Laurentiis Quotes. BrainyQuote.
Wonderopolis. (n.d.). Why Is World Hunger Still a Problem? Wonderopolis.
