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GMO’s Friend or Foe
Dorothy Decker
January 29, 2014
ENG 102
Genetically Modified Organisms or GMO’s
The advances in science over the centuries have been huge and by that I mean extraordinary. We have come to a point where our families are consuming genetically modified foods on a daily basis and most of us don’t even know it. You ask yourself, what are genetically modified foods? Genetically modified foods are in your cupboards, in your refrigerators and your shopping carts and you don’t even know it. Why is this? It’s because there are no regulations on these foods and thus we buy and consume them each and every day and have no knowledge of it, much less we have no idea what kind of impact they have on us in the long run health wise. It is said that one of the benefits to genetically modified foods are they have a longer life span than conventionally grown crops. On the other hand these genetically modified foods are indeed harmful due to irradiation and the risks they pose to our environment. This paper is an option on GMO’s and a desire to have the growers and supermarkets at least label them so we know what we are buying and eating so we can make a choice in our food.
Irradiation is one of the worst things that could have ever happened to our food. Gary Gibbs, D.O. author of The Food That Would Last Forever, he also say , “Irradiations is destroying our food supply.” (Turner 26) Irradiation has consequences such as the product of new allergens in foods, which can create new and higher levels of toxins. “For example: in 1993, 37 people died and more than 1,500 people suffered partial paralysis from a disease called eosinophilia-myalgia (Turner 26).” This was linked to a tryptophan supplement made with genetically engineered bacteria. Once the genetically modified organisms are in the environment, there is no way to get them back out of the environment. What is all of this you ask, it’s how they keep bugs and disease out of the crops...