Genetically Modified Foods Persuasive Essay

Genetically modified foods have been around for years, but most Americans have no idea if they are eating them. With very little public awareness, GMOs have come to dominate both global agriculture and supermarket shelf space. It is believed that 75 to 80 percent of conventional processed food in the U.S. contain GMOs, according to the Grocery Manufacturers Association (Lowery 1). GMOs are also not just found in foods but used on the animals where our meat comes from. Certain genetic mutations are given to animals to make them grow faster and larger. These practices are extremely controversial, and for the most part are thought to be bad. However, genetically modified foods are a necessity to uphold the need to feed the world's growing population,

Another main reason is that it can help feed the world and help end world hunger. Currently, 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to live a healthy active life, that's about one in nine people on earth. (wfp.org 1). And one of the key tools that can help urgent problems of food shortages is the use of genetically modified foods. Modern genetic engineering makes producing them fairly easy. GMOs can improve crop yield and enhance the nutritional value of crops. An example of this is a genetically modified food called “golden rice”. Golden rice is a variety of rice in which the vitamin A is increased in the food. The goal of this new kind of rice was to produce a popular food to be grown and consumed in areas with a shortage of vitamin A, a deficiency which is estimated to kill 670,000 children a year. (goldenrice.org 1). Situations like these, are times when GMOs are needed to feed the world. They are a benefit because of the growing population and decreasing farm land. There are now more mouths to feed than ever, with even fewer

The use of GMOs in factory farms are a danger to the ecosystem and humans. These farms dominate US food production, by maximizing agribusiness profits at the expense of the environment, animal welfare, and our own health. One issue with factory farms is the amount of manure they produce and where they dispose of it. These farms typically store animal waste in huge open air lagoons, some as big as several football fields. “In the U.S. alone, animals raised on factory farms produce more than 1 million tons of manure per day. That's three times the amount generated by the country's human population.” (farmsanctuary.org 3). This large sum of waste can and has easily spilled into many waterways. This runoff has killed millions of fish, and is the reason why 60% of rivers in America are polluted. A common bacteria found in water because of factory farms is called Pfiesteria bacteria. In humans it can cause open sores, nausea, memory loss, and fatigue. This manure can also omit harmful gases into the atmosphere when over applied to land. Most factory farms do this and it emits methane, a greenhouse gas and key contributor to global warming. Over 37 percent of methane emissions result from factory farms. (nationalgeographic.com 1). Even though many don't know it, factory farms contribute a lot of harm to the