Why GMO's Should be Banned in Canada

Debate for: Why GMO’s Should be Banned in Canada
Opening Statement:
Today we are here to discuss why “GMOs should be banned in Canada”, and the rest of the world as a matter of fact.
Def/Explanation: Firstly, GMO is an acronym for Genetically Modified Organisms. What this concept is can be briefly explained by the following analogy. Suppose I take Iman* and Ibrahim* to take part in a science experiment. I take some of Iman’s genes, duplicate it and put it in Ibrahim’s body. Then I present Ibrahim in front of you all and tell you that this new Ibrahim is far stronger, efficient and beneficial to all of you and the society. You guys don’t know anything that has happened with Ibrahim internally and are just brainwashed that he is better for us. Similarly, GMOs are created but instead of humans they’re experimented on crops and animals. Therefore, because it is inhumane, defies the laws of nature and have consequences that are unknown to us, I strongly believe that GMOs should be completely banned from our society, once and for all!
1st Argument:
One of the main reasons that GMOs are so dangerous to us is that most of us aren’t fully educated on the subject. The growth and development of this technology has been so rapid and the concept is still so new to us, that we aren’t fully aware of what its long term side-effects and consequences may be. The resulting GM foods have undergone little or no long-term safety testing. The authorities are so blinded by the millions of profits that they have neglected all the risks associated with it. Nowadays, almost everything we buy at local grocery stores are somehow related to GMOs. I.e. fruits and vegetables such as banana, apples, papaya, (for longer shelf life and “presumably” greater potential yield**) etc; they’re found in soy products and corn (presumably better protection again pests); and the most devious of them all, they’re sometimes even found in dairy products as they’re often hidden in animal feed – jeopardizing the health of the animals as well as the humans who consume their products.
Proof: Even though, many supporters of the GMO argue that there aren’t any visible evidences of GMO’s damages, they’re mistaken. Since the year 1996, when GMOs first became popular in Canada and the US, there has been a drastic change in the citizens’ health. Since the last 2 decades, the number of illnesses related to the digestive system has been statistically proven to have increased, according to these graphs.
2nd Argument:
Supporters also claim that one of the most significant benefits of GMOs is that they’re the solution to our universal food crisis, especially considering the rate at which our population is increasing. However, this is also untrue as firstly barely any of the food goes to the people living in poverty. A 2008 World Bank report concluded that increased biofuel production is one the major causes of the increasing food prices. Biofuels are crops grown for fuel rather than food. However Monsanto, one of the leading GM companies, has been at the heart of lobbying the biofuels – while profiting enormously from the food crisis and using it as an opportunity to promote GM foods.
“The climate crisis was used to boost biofuels, helping to create the food crisis; and now the food crisis is being used to revive the fortunes of the GM industry.” – Daniel Howden, Africa correspondent, The Independent (UK).[2]
3rd Argument:
Lastly, throughout the years leading GMO companies have often been involved in many scandals that are related to health safety of consumers and loyalty/work integrity. We, as consumers, are only presented with the final products and aren’t aware of the company’s (who creates them) reputation and don’t care about what happens in the factories behind the curtains. For years, leading companies such as Monsanto and Bayer have been studying to invent newer and more efficient ways to modify crops – one way has been “crossbreeding”. They have attempted to mutilate different genes and hormones into animals to make them more efficient. However, what GM companies have attempted is that they have tried mixing human genes (or other animal genes) with crops such as corns and modified them so that the crops will be better protected from pests. Now ethically, would you want to eat food products that have been experimented and tempered with?
For example, would you continue to eat bananas if you had known that they have been injected with horse genes? My guess would be no.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, following up on the point mentioned earlier about animals being fed GM foods, many of them become obese and are physically tormented by these foods as they are proven to have extra proteins and vitamins as well.
Closing:
Overall GMOs are nothing but harmful for us in the long run, no matter how promising they may look presently. They bring unpredictable health consequences, are not the perfect solution to our food crisis and are basically sneaked into our daily nutritional diet by the companies. However if you still think that all of these points are untrue, then just think for yourself, why aren’t GMOs labelled and why are we not fully educated about them as consumers? Why are the companies so secretive about their ingredients? Personally, if our lives and health are at risk in the future, then we should at least be given the choice to decide whether we want to get involved. And therefore, as a person who has been educated on the topic, and even just as a human being, we should support the banning of genetically modified organisms.
Rebuttles:
1) There are better ways to feed the world:
A major UN/World Bank-sponsored report compiled by 400 scientists and endorsed by 58 countries concluded that GM crops have little to offer global agriculture and the challenges of poverty, hunger, and climate change, because better alternatives are available. In particular, the report championed “agroecological” farming as the sustainable way forward for developing countries.
2) The way they decrease pests are signs showing toxic contaminations:
Some crops, such as corn and soybeans are claimed to have better protection against pest with very minimal or without the use of pesticides on them, when they’re genetically modified. However, this is because the modification causes the crops to emit a kind of toxic that immediately kills types of pests when ingested, thus reducing the number of pests that approach them. This taken into consideration, if the crops are toxic enough to immediately kill small insects, they’d most likely have a slow and gradual effect on our immune systems.
3) May lead to future economic disaster:
Since more and more crops that are being consumed are GMOs, the demand for it by sellers increases, while the demand for organic food is decreasing. This taking place, farmers who harvest crops organically have little business and may rely on the government to provide funds, etc.
4) GMs and non-GMs can’t co-exist:
GM contamination of conventional and organic food is increasing. An unapproved GM rice that was grown for only one year in field trials was found to have extensively contaminated the US rice supply and seed stocks.In Canada, the organic oilseed rape industry has been destroyed by contamination from GM rape. In Spain, a study found that GM maize “has caused a drastic reduction in organic cultivation's of this grain and is making their coexistence practically impossible”.
5) Once the mutant genes are out of the bag, there is no going back. Genetically modified organisms contaminate existing seeds with their altered material, passing on modified traits to non-target species. This creates a new strain of plant that was never intended in the laboratory. In North Dakota, recent studies show that 80% of wild canola plants tested contained at least one transgene.