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The Controversy Over GMO Research

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The Controversy Over GMO Research
In recent years, there has been a controversy over the use of GMOs. I decided to find out why this is, so I have done my research on the history, benefits, risks, and the different viewpoints people have taken on this topic. While I will continue to do more extensive research, I have already researched on several of MCC’s periodicals databases including CQ Researcher, Science Direct, and EBSCO Host, and also on the search engine Google. I will continue in my research but so far I’ve noticed several topics/themes in the sources. Before I go into the different sides of GMO’s I want to note a bit of background information. GMO stands for genetically modified organism. The concept of genetically modified (GM) crops is isolating the DNA of plants …show more content…
Studies have linked GMOs to a variety of health issues and diseases such as autism, gluten disorders, cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and allergies (Katiraee.) This is especially the case for young, growing children because their bodies are still developing. For example, I met a friend a year and a half ago who has developed an allergy to GMOs. This causes problems for her because most foods produced in this country contain GMOs. Genetically modified organisms are thought to be dangerous in some countries, and several European countries have outlawed them altogether. While genetically modified organisms present an extensive list of health issues, humans are not the only group affected. Genetically modified crops not only affect human health, but they also affect the …show more content…
They believe that companies should be able to do what they want, and that anything the FDA allows must be safe. In his article, Chayka brings up what happened in Europe: Europe passed a law that required labelling for all GMO products. This made citizens aware of everything that had GMOs in it and eventually everyone stopped buying GMO products, which led to an outlaw of GMOs. Secondly, others believe that GMOs should be completely outlawed due to all the risks. Yes, they can choose not to eat GMOs, but the environment suffers regardless of whether or not they choose to ingest GMOs. Lastly, others think that it’s ok for GMOs to be in food, but with laws requiring companies to label their products for GMOs. This way, companies can still do what they want with their products and people can make their own decision on whether or not they want to consume foods with GMOs. It is somewhat a happy medium between the two other views. Different members of this group have different opinions on weather GMOs are harmful or not, nevertheless they all think that they should have to be label them by law, so that people know what they are eating and can make a choice for themselves on whether or not they want to ingest
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