Gm Foods Persuasive Essay

By the year 2050, two major things are going to happen: the world's population will be approaching 10 billion, and there will be less farmable land than there was in 2017. Surely something must be wrong here! The major problem this fact exposes is that we can’t feed 10 billion people with a food supply for only 7 billion. Fortunately genetically modified foods have been the answer to this problem for many years; we just haven't learned to embrace them. Although genetically modified foods have presented health risks in the past, this correctable problem along with many other benefits make them the future source of food for the human race.
Genetically modified foods (GMOs) are created through the process of genetic engineering. This process allows

In her opinionated journal, Chien Shanley states that in regards to GM foods, most scientists “Vouch for their safety”(1) in spite of their negative status . She believes organizations like the Non-GMO project are simply profit driven with their “$11 billion in annual sales”(2) and could actually care less about your health. This company is even known for their famous “Non GMO” stamp on foods which doesn’t “necessarily mean your food is GMO free”(2). This company's hypocrisy overshadows the true accomplishments of GMOs like the creation of a grain that could “combat vitamin A deficiency”(4) as well as GMO’s ability to “add to the nutritional value of food”(1). Shanley then says one of the world’s major genetic engineering companies stated in a press release that “they conduct extensive tests to determine the safety of their products”(5). If the world's largest manufacturer of GMOs is required by law to conduct tests of their products, then for the sake of their company its products will always be safe. The truth is that GMOs just get a bad reputation such as the first picture that shows when one googles “GMOs” is a tomato being injected with a needle. These misinformed people forget that genetic engineering was created to make food safer and more nutritious. Unfortunately, understanding the merits of genetic engineering requires research and an understanding on the subject. Aside from

In his article “Genetically Modified Foods Are Not Safe To Eat,” Joseph Mercola states that “several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food.”(4). Obviously scientists are not intentionally trying to make this food unhealthy, but Mercola points out that “unpredictable results”(3) may arise from horizontal gene transfer, which is the main technique for changing a genome. These opposing claims of GMOs are completely factual, and like most things scientists have found ways to fix them. For example, an alternative method to horizontal gene transfer has already been created by scientists from the University of California Berkeley. It’s called CRISPR-Cas9 and it performs a function much simpler than its name. According to Tom Parrett, this tool allows scientists to focus on “a single gene and turn it on and off”.(2) Unlike horizontal gene transfer Cas9 can “modify plant DNA without without changing its essence”. This makes the unwanted results associated with older methods disappear and essentially eliminates all health risks GMOs can pose. If this new technology truly works, people against GMOs will no longer have reason in their claims that the results are unpredictable and dangerous. The hysteria around the GMO situation closely resembles people’s reactions when cigarettes were found to be harmful, the difference is that GMO’s are new and have already