Genetically Engineered ‘Food‘
GMO is short for ‘genetically modified organism’, and for our purposes is equivalent to GE (genetically engineered) foods. While mankind has long ‘modified’ both plants and animals by selective breeding or plant hybridization, GMOs are a whole new ballgame. By splicing genes from completely disparate species (like mice gene segments into tomato plants), companies like Monsanto are creating entirely new species that would have never existed without human interjection. These products are extremely controversial (and even illegal in many countries including the European Union and Japan) due to many factors:
- The lack of studies proving their safety, both as a food source and as an organism let loose in the environment.
- A very urgent concern to farmers around the world, especially in developing countries, is that the manufacturers prohibit farmers from saving their seeds (as they’ve done for 5,000 years!), and force them to purchase new seeds every year.
- Farmers are being sued for large amounts of money for “stealing” these GMOs simply because the seeds have blown onto their farms. And they present a very serious danger to organic farms for just this reason. Organic farmer’s very livelihood is put in danger by the contamination of their fields.
- They are designed specifically so that farmers can heavily spray the company’s matching pesticide in large quantities without damaging the plant. Needless to say, the environment and groundwater do not fare as well as the GMO plants.
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Here are three great websites to help you learn more about GMOs and how you can help fight to ensure they are used safely and fairly...