Nowadays, the world is suffering from a shortage in terms of foods due to many environmental problems, such as pollution, desertification, and extinction. According to USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), between 1969 and 2014, arable land in the U.S is decreasing on average by 0.33% each year. Besides, Dietary habits of consumers have changed and people’s baskets have become richer, which increases the levels of consumption. As a result, resources become unable to meet nowadays’ needs.
All of these constraints pushed the world to seek new and cost-effective production methods in order to reduce this shortage. In parallel with the scientific evolution we are living now, biologists have come out with a new invention known as Genetically Modified Foods which are produced from organisms that have had changes in their DNA. These genetically modified foods last longer without being damaged and come out in larger crops, not like their natural counterparts. However, these products are not good as they seem. They are considered as a major threat to the environment and human health.
Theoretically, genetically modified foods are known for having lower nutrition value, taste and quality compared with natural foods. The fact that genetically modified foods are made more for commercial purposes and for serving the maximum number of customers affects their quality and causes disruption of their natural structure. As a result, Foods might be indigestible and useless for the human body. In addition, inserting a new gene in a plant could cause a loss of balance in terms of the plant’s components; in other words, a modified plant may produce higher levels of certain substances while producing less of others. For example, a study has shown that a certain strain of soybean started producing less of Phytoestrogen compounds that were highly recommended as a protection against cancer and heart diseases (Bakshi, 2003).
Genetically modified foods are very dangerous for human health because they contribute to the emergence of many serious diseases. Many health problems showed up after genetically modified foods were introduced in 1996. The number of Americans with three or more chronic illnesses has increased by 6% in just 9 years (Bakshi, 2003). The most common side effect of consuming genetically modified products are allergic reactions due to the chemicals integrated into this kind of foods. As alluded to earlier, genetically modified foods are made by injecting foreign genes into organisms. These genes may create some allergens in that stimulates immune responses resulting in many serious syndromes such as scars of skin and Nausea.
Besides, a research done by a Canadian scientist, Dr. Shiv Chopra, showed that roughly 11 million Canadian people suffer from food poisoning each year. The Canadian food supply, nowadays, is considered as the most toxic on Earth because of the indiscriminate use of hormones and the excessive use of chemicals in foods industry. Sadly, the spread of this phenomenon, particularly in the Canadian society, increases the chances of getting cancer, diabetes, hormone disruption and metabolic disorders (Ferrie, 2011).
Moreover, scientists have become alarmed by such a serious phenomenon, which is the emergence of strains of viruses and bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. At the beginning of the process of injecting new genes into organisms, experts do not know if this organism will be tolerant with the new genes injected; therefore, they attach the desired gene to another antibiotic resistance one, which will ensure that the integration process will go peacefully. This will create a concern that the bacteria and viruses living inside human body would pick up and stick to an antibiotic resistance gene from these genetically modified foods. Thus, we will face serious problems trying to get rid of these bacteria and viruses and even we will have many incurable diseases (GEO-PIE).
Besides human health, genetically modified foods have many harmful effects on the environment. Generally, genetically modified foods are produced from genetically modified plants that are engineered to be herbicide tolerant and resistant to pests, insects, and diseases. As a consequence, this feature will encourage farmers to increase their use of herbicides, pesticides, and other fertilizers, which will increase the quantity of toxins in air and soil. Thus, this may cause unexpectable changes in the environment.
Furthermore, toxins released during the process of producing genetically modified foods may harm other organisms that are living on these modified plants. Bees, as an example, play a significant role in the prosperity of nature by assisting pollination process between plants. These useful, small organisms base their living on plants; as a result, genetically modified plants threaten the integrity of these organisms and could lead to their extinction, which will definitely cause a defect in the biological chains.
All in all, genetically modified organisms are considered as one of the most controversial areas of science. Although genetic engineering is widely accepted in many fields, like medical applications, a great debate heats up when it comes to food and agriculture. Genetically modified foods have many benefits, particularly business ones. However, they threaten the safety of the environment and human in the short and long term. Hence, it is advisable to reconsider our consumption of these unsafe foods and reorganize our basket.
