Monday, March 14, 2016

To Modify Or Not To Modify

      Food is a glorious creation indeed, it is the one thing that cheer us up when we're upset, and it's the one thing that we think of when we're sad or happy (for me at least). Sometimes it is so good that we still eat it, even though we know the risk we're getting ourselves into. For instance, I would never give up boba (trapioca balls) drink no matter how much people claim it is cancerous or unhealthy. Similar to the example I have stated, our society is facing a growing problem and that is the food industry. We, consumers, do not care of how what we put into our mouth may affect our health as long as we get to consume the type of food of our choice. This neglect gives a free pass to the food industry to do whatever it wants as long as it produces enough food to meet our demand; they go from traditional farming to industrial farming. With this evolving industry, arise multiple complications and debates over what they're doing is right or wrong or whether what their way of culturing food is healthy for us. Among those issues, GMO is one of the most controversial topic as it provides economical and environmental benefit to the society, but at the same time there are claims that undermine the benefits of GMO, and implicate that GMO can cause harm to our physical health. Most people believe that GM plants, or crops can cause various disease, lead to cancer, and alter our genes in a negative way. However, it should be noted all of these assertions are built upon a monolith of rumours, fear, and false assumptions. There has been no reliable study that proves these arbitrary, although reasonable beliefs. On the other hand, there are research and study that support the benefit of GMO. By planting GM crops, we can reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emission, thus slowing down the green house effect. Not to mention, it also reduces the use of pesticides, which contain harmful chemicals. In addition, unlike traditionally planted crops, which are prone to bacterias and infections, GM crops are more resistant to bacterias. Furthermore GM crops require less land, which helps counter against the depletion of minerals and nutrients in soils due to intensive farming. Not only does GMOs benefit us environmentally, but it can also improve our well-being. Some crops are genetically modified in a way that they will yield more product with higher nutritional value. Plus, there has been some research groups that is trying to harvest vaccines from GM plants. This would mean more vaccines will be available to people (this may be a bit out of topic, but it is worth mentioning). Last but not least, GMOs are heavily regulated by the government (feel free to check out the regulations). In fact, the government supervises GMOs more than natural food; therefore if anything, GMOs may be even healthier than other types of food.
So my questions are:
Do you believe in the governmental regulations on GMOs? Why or why not? (Statistical evidence would be appreciated)
Those who are against GMOs: Is it better to get rid of GMOs from our groceries store altogether? Why or why not? (Think of the price increase, lower output, and people with low incomes)
Those who are for GMOs: Is there any other reasons why we should promote GMOs? (I really need some more reasons!!!)

(Kumpol, I shall not comply to the wish of someone who is incapable of spelling "wrecked". Your silly race means nothing, but a childish act attempting to fortify your self-esteem.) Get wrecked!


1 comment:

  1. First comment, don't you have anything better to do than to burn me on your blog at four in the morning? Anyway, I do not trust the governmental regulation on GMOs completely. GMOs is relatively a new field of science and agriculture that requires more research in order to fully understand it consequences. However, I think that the benefits of GMOs outweigh the harms that people described. Furthermore, the economic consequences of getting of GMOs is so high that it is almost impossible. Exiting organic farms alone wouldn't be able to supports the demand of the consumers across the country. If we were to get rid of GMOs, it would require an extended time period and a sustainable replacement. This would mean that many farmers who is already in debt would be force to shut down their farm or turn it into an organic farm that would require more investment. In my opinion, I thin GMOs is useful because it allows the expansion of crops. People would be able to grow crops that they weren't able to grow before due to specific condition that they must meet.For example, some crops are heat intolerant; therefore, they would die in a high temperature areas. GMOs not only solve that problem but it also opens up the opportunities for people to experience with new things and move agriculture forward.

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