Society & Politics

Genetically Modified Food, And Why We Need GMO Labels

Humans have been modifying plants since the beginning of agriculture, all for the purpose of growing a steady food supply without much regard to the plant's own adaptability in the wild. Tomatoes are bred for plumpness and juiciness; grapes may be made seedless; and oranges may be bred for more juiciness. That's the power of artificial selection.

Genetically Modified Food, And Why We Need GMO Labels

{Too many images on Bing are heavily anti-GMO. So, I use this image. It's just a picture of an apple stamped with a GMO label.}

Unlike artificial selection, genetic modification of foods involves transferring genes from one plant to another, and the two plants may be of the same or different species.

One time, scientists modified the tomato to increase its shelf life, but that didn't sell well on the market, because at the time, there was already a kind of tomato that was bred for longer shelf life.

Scientists modified a range of crops to protect against pests, but the crops had an inadvertent effect on non-pest insects. The main crops that were modified to tolerate herbicides, resist pests, produce greater yield, and improve product quality are rice, soybeans, potatoes, wheat, corn, cotton, and rapeseed; those products may be found in processed foods, canned, and preserved foods, as well as vaccines, vitamins, and drugs. Few GM varieties have been developed for fruits, vegetables, and nuts, but that may change in the future.

Genetically modified agricultural products are relatively new, so not much is known about the ecological benefits or human health benefits; and this cloud of doubt over GMO products leads to negative criticism and suspicion that the products are harmful. Regardless of the negative public opinion, GMO products may be the future of most, if not all, agricultural products to support an ever-growing human population.

As of now, I believe that the government should require mandatory labeling of GMO products. The products will be labelled for purpose and method of genetic modification. Some labels will read, "genetically modified through artificial selection to increase shelf life," and other labels will read, "genetically modified through the transferring of genes between plant species [or between plant-to-animal species, and vice versa] to increase shelf life".

That way, consumers will know what they are getting. People who are extremely paranoid about GMO products will buy organic, heirloom, non-GMO products; and people who just want to enjoy life and have some kind of food on the table will buy the GMO products. Life's a gamble. There are many things in the world that have the potential to kill. GMO products are just the least of one's worries. In addition, if the GMO products actually prove to be harmful to human health, then that may be a very good tool to decrease the human population. After all, Earth needs less people. Why not just kill ourselves by our own technologies?

Genetically Modified Food, And Why We Need GMO Labels
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