G-M-Over It: Unknown effects of modified foods cause controversy

The salsa for your chips. The mashed potatoes at dinner. It seems that everywhere we turn, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have worked their way into our lives and as a result, into our stomachs.

But they give foods more diversity. Genetic engineering, the method of creating GMOs, is used by scientists to introduce new traits or characteristics to an organism.

The process includes inserting foreign genes from a plant or animal into a host organism’s genetic code. Once it is complete, the result is a new variation of otherwise familiar foods we’ve known and loved. Potatoes, corn and even cereal have been and remain subject to genetic alteration.

But the controversy surrounding the effects of GMOs is growing. In some ways, the engineered foods have quickly increased their grasp on the world. Four years after they were first approved for human consumption in 1995, GMOs were almost 50 percent of the planted corn, cotton and soybeans in the United States. Fast-forward to 2015, and they cover nearly a quarter of the world’s farmland.

In today’s society, however, people are becoming more aware of what they’re consuming. Statistics from Nielsen NV, a market-research firm, show that retail sales of GMO-free eggs, salad dressing and other food products increased 15 percent to $9.6 billion last year.

Among the fastest-growing industries, non-GMO foods are even being adopted by many businesses. Chipotle, a popular Mexican-style restaurant chain, made the decision in April 2015 to cook without any genetically modified ingredients. Panera Bread, a chain of bakery-cafes, shook up the eatery world with its announcement to rid their foods of more than 150 additives by the end of 2016.

As more and more people begin to avoid GMOs, questions of how harmful they really are continue to surface. The fight between eliminating them and encouraging them has only just begun.

Both sides of the story

So what’s the problem with GMOs? Why are businesses going out of their way to avoid them? Why are people turning to GMO-free foods? After all, studies published in the journal Critical Reviews in Biotechnology couldn’t establish a single credible example that showed GMOs are harmful.

Many scientists in favor of their use note this new avoidance of genetically modified foods is in correlation with the growing “healthy and organic” trend. While this is true, others believe that a simple trend cannot account for the entire 15-percent increase of sales of GMO-free food.

It seems that the unknown effects of modified foods are beginning to turn people away. Surveys done by Bryn Mawr College suggest that the lack of information on the consequences of genetically modified foods on human health is affecting the food choices of students. Since the rise of the GMO controversy, they’ve begun avoiding the consumption of modified foods.

Mr. Dan Juedes, physical education teacher, is not currently convinced of their safety. “The greatest challenge is to determine the long-term impact of consuming these products,” Mr. Juedes said.

In addition, people who are environmentally-friendly are often particularly conscious of avoiding GM foods. The risk of these new variations interbreeding with natural organisms could lead to extinction of the original organism, producing new unpredictable environmental effects.

And those with allergic risks may have to be more aware of their GMO consumption. A tomato with even a trace amount of peanut genes still contains peanut, and this produces an issue many people aren’t aware of.

Ms. Lorin Kelly, physical education and health teacher, believes that GMOs are a topic that the general population doesn’t pay attention to. “A lot of products that people eat every day contain GMOs, and people don’t even realize it,” Ms. Kelly said.

On the other hand, many people, such as farmers, still benefit from the production of GMOs. Plants can be genetically modified to be more disease- and drought-resistant. More crops can now be grown at a lower cost thanks to engineering.

The increased shelf life of GM food, along with a reduced cost, proves beneficial to the rapidly-increasing global population. As numbers are estimated to grow from the current 7.2 billion to a whopping 9.6 billion, biotechnological engineers say these crops will be needed more than ever to feed the population.

Mrs. Susan Godfrey, physical education teacher, currently benefits from the long-lasting life of certain food products thanks to GMOs. “As a mom, I try to choose healthy foods for my family, but it’s really difficult to find food that isn’t pre-packaged or modified,” Mrs. Godfrey said.

And she is not alone. Studies by the Grocery Manufacturers Association show that nearly 80 percent of the food eaten in the US is genetically modified; however, the problem lies in the fact that many Americans aren’t aware of the presence of GMOs.

From food to foe

In this case, what people don’t know could hurt them.

Every day, we are putting genetically modified organisms into our bodies. Each day we take in these organisms is another day we are possibly contributing to unknown effects of these foods, for the sake of bigger strawberries or rounder tomatoes.

As more time passes, the toll we could be taking on ourselves and the environment increases. It’s not as simple as it used to be – there’s risk involved with the consumption of GMOs.

But across the world, there are many people rooting for them and fighting for the benefits of GMO production.

It’s up to everyone to pick their side and do what they think is right for their bodies.