The Danger of Genetically Modified Organisms

How well do we know the food we are eating? Ever wondered whether these foods are safe? In the recent years, people have become more aware of how genetically modified foods have substituted our diets with altered foods -- to which little we know about the long term effects on humans. These food being fed to us is called Genetic Modified Organism or GMOs. Just in 2012, prop 37 was proposed in California, which would have required labeling of genetically engineered (GE) food, with some exceptions. Although this prop did not pass, it did however raise the awareness. When one thinks about GMOs, it does not seem like a hot issue, but it still deserves some attention because it has to do with people’s health and people deserve to know what they are eating. Consequently, the Government should regulate GMOs by requiring labeling of such foods.

Throughout history, farmers have manipulated plants and animals to obtain more desirable results. Mules, that can do more work than horses and are faster and smarter than donkeys, are a great example of how farmers have crossed a male donkey with a female horse and obtained a such offspring. The big difference with GMOs is the form the cross happens. Going back to my previous example, we have a donkey and a horse,both animals and the cross happens by natural breeding. In the other hand, as the name suggest, GMOs modify the genetic makeup of an organism many times crossing genes of animals with plants creating a variant, quite different from the original specie. This creates mutated or altered foods.

In general, GMOs are when the DNA of one organism is extracted and added to another plant or organism’s DNA. This means that when GMOs occur is when an organism has had its genetic makeup manipulat...

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