This topic has brought much debate between the two opposing sides to see how safe GMOs are to consume. Pro GMO activist believe that “food is viewed as a source of nutrition to meet daily requirements at a minimum in order to survive but with an ever greater focus on the desire to thrive. In the latter instance, there is an ever-growing interest in the functionality of food. Functional foods have been defined as any modified food or food ingredient that may provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients it contains” (Newell-McGloughlin, 2008). The increased functionality of GMOs could lead to a world with less diseases. While on the other side, others believe that GMOs could lead to cell mutation due to the organism own genetic modification. There are three major aspects that raise debate. “1. The use of selectable markers to identify transformed cells. 2. Transfer of extraneous DNA into the plant genome (i.e. genes other than those being …show more content…
According to Elizabeth Weise of USA today, “in the United States today a huge proportion of the most commonly grown commodity crops are genetically engineered: 95% of the nation's sugar beets, 94% of the soybeans, 90% of the cotton and 88% of the feed corn, according to the 2011 International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications report” (2012). This shows how the United States is slowly moving more and more towards the usage of genetically engineered crops. This is due to the fact that scientist are able to enhance different parts of the crop in order to tailor it to specific needs such as ideal climate, the amount of water it needs to consume, or the amount of crop one seed makes. GMOs allow scientist to tinker with the DNA of a specific organism so that the crop can be made more effectively. Not only that, but when looking at the genetically modified seeds, the alterations made to its genomic sequence could garner better crop yields. This could produce a healthier crop as well as reduce the amount of crop failure. This could also lead to better nutritional value of food. By engineering such foods, scientist are able to enhance the amount of vitamins and minerals that are inside of the crop itself. This could yield the first batch of super foods that can help fight many different ailments (Mandel, 2015). The uses of GMOs are boundless as scientist can change