Gmo's Effects

In November 2011, the world population hit 7 billion inhabitants. 7 billion people is an incredible amount of people sharing one planet's resources. According to The American Agriculture, in 1830, with the world population at 1 billion, "about 250 labor-hours required to produce 5 acres of wheat," through the use of plows and reapers. In 1990, one farmer is able to supply food for over 100 people, not through the use of plows and reapers, but with biotechnology and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Farming used to be naturally grown, but beginning in the 1990's, farming techniques have become a matter of GMO's.

Our perceptions of farming has changed from picking apples off the tree by hand. To accommodate population growth, Monsanto, an agricultural biotechnology corporation, introduced the first genetically modified tomato in 1994. Monsanto has developed other genetically modified (GM) foods like maize, soybeans, and wheat. Monsanto's core value is sustainable agriculture- "Producing more. Conserving more. Improving lives". This raises a health concern over GM crops. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims that GMO crops are inspected by professionals and ensure that it's safe to eat. But in a recent scientific study that examined the long-term effects of eating GMOs, conducted by the University of Coen, researchers found that after feeding rat's small amounts of GM crops, rats developed cancer tumors, leading to death in 70% of female rats. Monsanto is viewed as an evil corporate business; their seed and herbicide business is intended to deceive farmers into dependence on Monsanto after their soil is destroyed by Roundup, a type of herbicide. Understanding the effects of GMO's on our bodies as well as the environment should propel us to be cautious of what we buy in grocery markets. Organizations such as the Non-GMO Project has gained recognition in advocating the idea that consumers should be aware of what they're eating by labeling foods that are GM and choosing to eat organic foods, or foods that are not grown with use of GMO's.