Are GMOs Bad??

GMOs are Genetically Modified Organisms, and are incredibly prevalent in today's age. There is much debate over whether these have any adverse health effects, and the accepted scientific consensus is that there is not health risk to eating GMO foods. But many people are concerned that there are unknown long term health risks, which cannot be known since GMOs were only introduced in 1994. Adding to the controversy is the fact that nearly three dozen nations prohibit the cultivation of GMO crops, including the European Union and Russia.

Since 1996, GMO production has increased over 100 times, and in 2014, 94% of corn, 94% of soy, and 96% of corn grown in the United States was genetically modified. It's huge. But is it dangerous to eat? The short answer is no. But the reasons why GMOs are bad are far beyond the effects on human health. When scientist, industry, or spokespeople say that GMOs are safe to eat, they are complicit in hiding the real dangers and concerns.

The most popular and common genetic modification, by far, is herbicide resistance, known as "Round-Up Ready", after Monsanto's Glyphosate product. This modification make a crop immune to this herbicide, which allows it to be sprayed in very high levels, killing only the weeds. But this means that the use of toxic chemicals in agriculture has exploded. In 2007 this meant over 200 Million pounds were sprayed in the U.S. It has also lead to "Superweeds" that are resistant, leading to more chemicals. The chemicals have led to higher yields for farmers and slightly more affordable food for Americans, but much of the chemicals end up as run-off, polluting our water and depleting the health of our natural soils.

Because of labeling laws, you can assume that if you are eating a processed food, it has GMO.