The Anti-GMO Movement

The Anti-GMO Movement

Introduction
Genetically Modified Organisms, also known as GMOs, are “living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering,” (The Non-GMO Project). While genetic engineering has the capability of being beneficial to our society, The Non-GMO Project argues that it “creates unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods,” (The Non-GMO Project). GMOs are very prevalent in our contemporary food industry; The Non-GMO Project website states that “in the U.S., GMOs are in as much as 80% of conventional processed food,” (The Non-GMO Project). New traits are introduced to
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine cites animal studies that “show organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging, and infertility, as well as human studies that show how genetically modified food can leave material behind inside us, possibly causing long-term problems,” (Smith). For example, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine found that “genes inserted into genetically modified soy can transfer into the DNA of bacteria living inside us, and that the toxic insecticide produced by genetically modified corn was found in the blood of pregnant women and their unborn fetuses,”
One harmful effect that GMOs have on the environment is that they can cross pollinate and their seeds can travel, which makes it impossible to fully clean up the contaminated gene pool. Economic losses have also resulted from GMO contamination (Smith). Organic and non-GMO farmers are now having difficulty keeping their crops GMO free, which means that they can no longer sell the crops that are contaminated (Smith).
Another harmful effect that GMOs have on the environment is that they increase herbicide use, which allows for more toxins to be present. For example, the company Monsanto produces a herbicide known as Roundup, and the company then sells Roundup Ready crops, which are designed to survive the implementation of Roundup (Smith). The overuse of Roundup, however, results in superweeds that are resistant to the herbicide, which causes farmers to use even more toxic herbicides every year (Smith). Genetically modified crops and herbicides have also been linked to the harming of insects, birds, marine ecosystems, amphibians, and soil organisms, by reducing biodiversity and polluting water resources (Smith). Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup has been shown to “cause birth defects in amphibians, embryonic deaths and endocrine disruptions, and organ damage in animals even at very low doses,”