Introduction:

When going to the local grocery store, everyone has seen when foods are labeled as organic, and when foods have the term GMO free is a label on a package. GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms are designed to promote a gene that does not always occur naturally within the environment. This has motivated people to buy organic foods or debate about the ethics of the food we eat.

Many people believe that GMOs are dangerous while other’s state that organic food is a sham designed as a marketing scheme. People obviously want to know what they are eating and if it is safe to taste. This article describes the arguments of both parties on the topic of organic food or GMOs, and also gives a concluding statement about this topic.

Arguments Against GMOs:

To start off with the arguments against GMOs, a huge issue is the usage of pesticides on vegetables or produce on the farm. A pesticide known as DDT almost caused the extinction of the great bald eagle. Due to the usage of this pesticide, water in the rivers got contaminated and bugs eaten by birds would later have severe consequences. The bald eagle when ingesting DDT would get a higher percentage of the toxin due to biomagnification, leading to weak egg shells that would crack or not hatch new baby eagles. This would obviously lead to the eventual banning on DDT but would later concern the population about the pesticides used in farming.

Moreover, there is a huge problem with factory farming causing adverse effects on the environment. Factory farming leads to a huge increase in pollution with a large amount of artificial food that causes an extreme use of antibiotics. The pollution directly affects groundwater, rivers, and rural communities by creating a large amount of algae which later creates dead zones. This is due to an influx of nitrates in these farms which would be causing these dead zones or contaminations. An example of a dead zone is the mouth of the Mississippi River, which has a huge amount of algae that is unhealthy for the environment. An influx of antibiotics used in GMOs that animals eat in factory farms would also lead to superbugs, bacteria that are resistant to traditional antibiotics.

  On a final note about the arguments against GMOs, the usage of synthetic pesticides and an increase of herbicides could lead to health risks. In a study from Harvard, it describes the positives and negatives of these herbicides. But the negatives lead to urgent concerns. The study describes how the usage of synthetic pesticides can lead to problems with the heart, nervous system, and digestive system. A study from Harvard stated that out of 50 pesticides and more than 30,000 licensed pesticide applicators caused an increased risk of diabetes, and can cause infertility in women. This study also supported an increased risk for neurological problems.

Arguments for GMOs:

While it is important to discuss the consequences of the uncontrolled usage of pesticides and other genetically modified organisms, it is important to see that there are several opportunities that can be made with the future usage of GMOs. 

A common argument is that we have been genetically modifying produce for years. Humans on the farm have breed traits that are desired to be made. Corn, for example, has different colored kernels. We, as humans can breed those traits in order to have large amounts of corn that would provide a large amount of food for the human population. Farmers could also create crops that survive droughts and other disasters, which can provide more food to the population.

An example of the opportunities that can be done by GMOs is the American Chestnut Tree. This could help the population of the Chestnut Tree because the Chestnut Tree was decimated by a disease that was transmitted through fungi. This gave the opportunity for scientists to want to research the possibility of genetically engineering the future trees in order to give resistance to this disease. This is a great opportunity because this would save the Chestnut Tree, a great CO2 collector, which would stop the dangers of climate change.

This also led onto the idea of saving plants, and that example is the Hawaiian Papaya. The hawaiian papaya became endangered due to the Papaya Ringspot Virus. Due to a new transgenic gene, the papaya could get immunity from the virus, which would lead to the increase in the market share of the Hawaiian papaya. This is an example of finding certain traits and engineering them to create a greater supply of food, which helps developing countries provide food for their constituents. These built in concentrates can also stop bugs from spreading around the plant which causes other issues because the bug may now avoid the plant due to genetic engineering.

Is Organic Better?:

Due to the concerns of GMOs, the increase in the usage of organic products has been increasing among the population. This has caused the question of whether organic food is truly beneficial compared to GMOs. Let’s look at the facts.

Organic food, while being labeled as organic, still can contain pesticides and sometimes can be considered as harmful than regular pesticides. This is due to the usage of copper in excess being harmful to humans and is commonly used in organic apples. Organic foods also need more land to complete the farming process and get a good amount of crops. Due to the usage of more land, the carbon footprint from both organic and GMOs remains the same. This also creates large amounts of area for nitrates to be placed for plants to grow which can cause other environmental problems. 

However, compared to factory farming, organic produce does use compost and other natural products that can help the environment. This is due to the fact that the usage of life cycles and decomposers created natural nitrates which supports the plant growth throughout the year, which conventional farming does not practice.

Conclusion:

Therefore, to conclude the topic of eating organic or genetically modified material, it is important to remember that the debate is around how people want to eat. People have the opportunity in the modern world to research the benefits of conventional or organic farming, and come to their own conclusions. It is important to remember that people should want the best for themselves and that is great when it comes to what people are consuming in their everyday lives.