GMO ~ Elias Khoury ~

     Genetically modified food (also known as GMO) is something I am sure we are all familiar with, due to it being around us almost everywhere we go that contains food. So its all around us it must be safe to consume GMO over organic since everyone else buys it and consumes it? No, GMO has many downsides to it and unlike organic foods GMO downsides include introducing allergens and toxins to the food, possible accidental contamination between GMO and non-GMO, antibiotic resistance, and environmental risks.

But wait lets rewind a bit, you say its something around us and we should be familiar with, what exactly is a GMO though? Well a genetically modified organism is when an organism has had its genetic material altered using genetic engineering methods. By doing this you are mutating, inserting, or deleting genes. This is bad compared to organic foods that are just grown the way they are suppose to be and not any of the above which would change the nutrition of the foods we buy and eat. GMO doesn't only affect crops in agriculture though, it affects other things such as animals.

Now that you have a general idea of what a GMO is lets take a look on in what ways is it harmful to us in 2 main different ways.

To start a GMO introduces allergens and toxins to food. Now you may right away think pesticide when you think about toxins and allergens being introduced to foods. This is in one way correct for agricultural situations where something such as BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) would be removed from the bacteria and injected into the DNA so the plant would do the work. Even though it is a biological pesticide we are eating this which is just one example of how a crop for example would allow a toxin into our body. But its not just crops, animals are also considered genetically modified such as chickens or cows and such. Animals that are genetically modified can be harmful to our bodies in the long run. An example of this could be fast food we eat that includes meat which came from a genetically modified cow which is later run through harmful substances to our body.

Although the animal is genetically modified to give more meat we are further harmed by what they do with this after and is possibly what we buy and consume.

 To end there is also antibiotic resistance as a result of taking in large amounts of genetically modified foods. Antibiotic resistance genes from Genetically modified foods are taken up by bacteria in the gut during digestion. If bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance genes were ever to cause infection, it would be very difficult to treat because of resistance built up overtime from consumption of the same repeated foods.

From these 2 points of downsides I can conclude from my perspective that GMO in general will be harmful in the long run as well as other external factors such as what is used before and after harvest of the crop or animal such as the cow video showing chemical use after the meat has been harvested.