Genetically modified foods have been in the groceries stores for years. In the next few years you could be buying non-tearing onions and a cantaloupe with a smooth exterior that can't carry salmonella. GMO is a plant or animal whose genetic material has been altered by gene splinting techniques which takes the genes from one plant and implants them in another, hopefully with the intention of benefiting the implanted species.
In China and the Philippines where rice is a staple food, there is a vitamin A deficiency, especially in women and children, which is a major cause of blindness. Those countries have started fortifying rice with a gene called,” golden rice" that encodes for vitamin A so people can consume it as a natural part of their diet.
The United States leads the world in growing GMO foods, about 55 hectares' worth followed by Argentina and Brazil. The most common GMO foods are soybean, corn, canola, squash, papaya, and alfalfa. Most GMO foods do not show whether they come from a GMO crop, therefore the public at large don't know when they consume it. A large percentage of the modified soybeans and corn are used for animal feed and in that way end up on our plates.
One of the basic concerns is that all the legal issues have been decided on the side of the GMO companies," says Daniel Parson, garden manager at Atlanta's in-town Gaia Gardens." for example when there is a genetic drift from fields that are GMO to fields non-GMO, those drifts are considered property of the company that made the GMO crop."
A 1997 London Times article reported that the lifespan of ladybugs were cut in half after eating insects that had consumed genetically modified potatoes that came from Scotland. The ladybugs who ate the aphids also laid fewer eggs. Unlike ladybugs humans are eating the food directly, as well as through the food chain, exposing ourselves to a double-whammy. Many side effects are not known although testing has been conducted that suggests risks, such as major organ change and damaged blood chemistry.
Until we know the long term effects of eating foods that have been genetically modified it will remain a gamble.
