Global Economic Benefits Of Genetically Modified Corn

Have you ever wondered what exactly is in that delicious Trix cereal you eat every morning? Of the many ingredients used to manufacture cereal, one prominent ingredient in Trix cereal is corn. However, this is not just any corn but rather genetically engineered corn. Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are utilized in many of our favorite brands due to its prominent use in agriculture. In fact, “up to 92% of the U.S. corn is genetically engineered” ("About Genetically Engineered Foods"). This innovative technology has and will continue to provide benefits worldwide. Regardless of the rewards that have been generated by GMOs, there is something quite unsettling about genetically modifying food. The probing question concerning the health

This implies that during its first 20 years of commercialization, GMOs provided a whopping annual revenue of $7.5 million on average! Relatively speaking, this is a tremendous amount. By genetically engineering seed crops for high herbicide tolerance and the self-production of herbicides, the probability of crop failure has significantly decreased. Genetic modification has not only made crop failures essentially non-existent, but has allowed for higher crop yields at lower manufacturing costs due to a reduced need for herbicides. The ability to produce higher crop yields introduces an entirely new solution to the ever-growing global problem: sustainability. With the continuing increase in global population, the demand for food across the world has become a grand challenge for society at large. If GM crops could potentially be modified to withstand any climate condition, these crops could ultimately be grown where the demand for food is greatest such as in third world countries. GM foods could ultimately eliminate the food shortage present in many eastern countries. More than simply solving the sustainability challenge, crops can be genetically modified to have a higher nutrient content. GM foods would not only provide a

As a result, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, drawback to GM foods is the potential for risk and the associated safety hazards with this innovative technology. This fear of the unknown creates an uneasiness about GM foods. Why would I want to eat something that scientist can’t 100% guarantee won’t harm me? Although GM foods have been associated with damaging health conditions such as allergies, antibiotic resistance, and cancer, no study has supported these claims. For example, GM foods were attributed to the 3.4% spike in food allergies for children under the age of 18 between 1997 and 1999 shown by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just years after the commercialization of GMOs (Jackson, Howie and Akinbami). However, a study conducted by Harvard University proved that there was no direct evidence of this relationship (Xu). Although the Food and Chemical Toxicology journal was able to develop a direct correlation between GM corn and cancer in 2013, investigation about the study invalidated the results due to a limited use of rat population when conducting the study (Séralini et al. 4221-4231). Because scientific research has yet to link GM foods to any health damaging diseases or conditions, genetic modification should continue to be commercialized. Another major drawback to the genetic modification of organisms is