As the battle over labeling Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in American food products continues, its good to keep in mind the scientific facts. GMOs are still yet to have been widely tested and were introduced into our food chain before doing so. We don’t know how they really affect the body, but risking your good health isn’t worth the wait to find out. The European Union along with two dozen other countries have already banned GMOs since they don’t know the long term health implications of their consumption. Here are a few reasons you might want to pay better attention to where your food comes from and what’s in it.
Fear Of The Unknown
As mentioned before, the health implications of eating GMOs are, for the most part, unknown. There have been no studies done proving their safety and the studies we do have were paid for by the corporations who create GMOs. The scientific community has very valid concerns about how genetically altered foods effect the digestive system. There are growing concerns that they may pass on their mutated genes to the bacteria in your gut as well. With new bacterium that have GMO genes, who knows how our bodies will react or what it will do to our immune or digestive systems.
Reduction Of Genetic Diversity
Plain and simple, genetic engineering means less genetic diversity. Just like with pure bred dogs, GMO plants aren’t as healthy as their genetically diverse counterparts. When you reduce genetic diversity, crops are more susceptible to the effects of droughts and insect or fungus invasion. GMO crops themselves have overall weak health from the time they are planted, which scary to think about when they are intended for farmers and communities to depend upon for survival. Not to mention the fact that a healthy crop means more nutrients in the food we consume, so since GMO plants are so weak, they are naturally less nutrient dense than those which haven’t been genetically changed.
Increased Use Of Pesticides, Herbicides, and Fungicides
By now, everyone knows that consuming pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides is basically like eating poison. They’re very hazardous to our health and should also not be allowed to get into our water supply. Unfortunately, GMO companies, who often times are the same companies that create and sell pesticides, are putting these poisons on our food and in our water.
Not A Promising Outlook
There haven’t been any studies done that really prove the safety of GMOs on the human body. The few studies that have been done on animals however look to be pretty grim. Lab rats who ate GMO potatoes dealt with chronic wasting away of their organs and those that were female had babies that were stunted, underdeveloped, and even sterile. If that’s not enough proof of something fishy with GMO foods, I don’t know what is!
