Brief research in crop science in the last few years has developed at a rather rapid pace, and the mixture of old and new crop breeding methods has made the term ‘genetically modified,’ or GMO (Genetically Modified Organism), avoidable by most people.
Are GMOs Actually Good for Us?
According to Henry Miller, a physician and founding director of the FDA’s Office of Biotechnology, and Kathleen Hefferon, a microbiologist studying synthetic biology and GMOs, this category is rather used detrimentally to refer to the use of the molecular genetic methods.
There were concerns raised regarding the introduction of these GMO products on the market, with evidence being seen in the raging debates that have been happening in numerous countries all over the world.
People have questioned the unplanned dangerous effect the GM food may cause to the lives of people and other creatures. Another question is whether microorganisms in the soil where GM products are planted would survive the various elements that leak into the soil and contaminate it permanently.
Other than than, more issues regarding environmental protection, food safety, health risks, corporate control of agriculture, and the future trajectory of farming were also brought up. Numerous pieces of research have already answered some of these questions, demonstrating that this type of artificial organisms are dangerous, such as an old article written by Dona and Arvanitoyannis from the Universities of Athens and Thessaly titled “The Health Risks of Genetically Modified Foods,” that details the health risks people are prone to if consuming GM food.
Most People do Not Believe GM Foods are Beneficial
Still, both Miller and Hefferon claim that effort and care have been used to make sure that crops created for commercialization utilizing molecular methods are safe, and the new features are actually ‘beneficial.’
They also mentioned the article written by the Greek researchers, claiming that it ‘systematically omitted numerous key references that, contrary to the authors’ conclusions, establish the safety of genetically engineered crops.’ Moreover, the pair also called all the research studies on GMOs that proved the dangers of such artificial foods ‘a handful of poorly designed’ and ‘deliberately misleading’ analyses, claiming that they ‘distort’ and ‘pollute’ the scientific literature.
However, the recommendation of the FDA against categorizing GM foods has made people suspect a lack of transparency in the technology and made them worry about the safety of consuming such products.
According to a ‘survey in knowledge and attitude’ towards GMO published back in 2016, a percentage of 61 people do not accept GM products under any circumstance, 70 percent see the technology as ‘one that is not natural,’ and 58 percent are concerned about the safety of the future generation as a result of consuming or being contaminated with GM products.
This makes us wonder how much these figures have increased since then, though, as people nowadays are more aware and concerned about the dangers of everything modified in a laboratory.
