Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are relatively new to the consuming public; they alter the genes of animals and plants for better gain by farmers. GMOs were produced to thrive in their non-natural habitats, resist pests, or produce more crops/product ("What is"). They were first introduced in 1994 when a tomato was produced to have a longer shelf life than natural grown tomatoes. These modified organisms have had their genes altered to "benefit" the greater good of society. GMOs have had their DNA crossed with another, separate organism and the result of that would be an entirely new genome that would not be found in nature or by typical cross breeding ("What is"). One scary example of a GMO is a glow in the dark potato, where scientists took genes from a jellyfish and spliced them in with the potatoes genes ("10 Reasons"). Even though it might be fun or interesting to play around with genes from two random organisms, we do not really understand the long term affects they will have on our bodies.  Genetically modified organisms are unnecessary. Even though some research has been done, they have only been around for twenty years which is not a long enough time to see how they will affect us long term.

Genetically modified organisms are usually produced in a laboratory and then introduced to farmers and others by scientists from major corporations, such as Monsanto. Monsanto is one of the most well-known companies that deals with the distribution of genetically modified organisms. Monsanto wants to "replace nature and eliminate billions of years of evolution, all for their greater profit and control" (Smith). However, Monsanto says that they are producing a "sustainable agriculture" ("Our Commitment"). They say that they are producing more crops while conserving water and land. While that is not true, they are also producing more and more chemicals to spray on their crops, since the GMOs have a high tolerance against disease. Monsanto is spraying harsh chemicals on the crops and then the pesticides are seeping into the food and into the water, especially in those of the third world countries where GMO concentrations are rising. Even here in the United States, farmers are now dependent on Monsanto because once their soil has been contaminated with these harsh pesticides, there is no going back to "natural farming" (Adams).

Since Monsanto patented the genetically modified seeds they are selling, they technically own the farmer's crops. Many farmers worry about become dependent on these companies, since they have to buy new seeds every growing year (Qaim). There have been multiple law suits between farmers and Monsanto to see who really has the rights to the crops being grown. One of these lawsuits has to do with a 75 year old farmer from Kansas, Mr. Bowman. Mr. Bowman is an Indiana soybean farmer that bought seeds from a local market that were patented by Monsanto. Everything was fine on the first harvest, however the second annual crop harvest was a different story. Mr. Bowman used his seeds "for his more risky second annual crop, repeatedly planting, cultivating, and harvesting them, just as farmers have done for around 10,000 years" (Gimenez). However, the difference in this case is the fact that the seeds had been sprayed with Roundup, a pesticide produced by Monsanto, without asking their permission to do so or paying royalties to the company themselves (Gimenez).  Since Monsanto had patented these crops for themselves, under the law, Mr. Bowman lost in court. Monsanto owns these seeds and are the masters of them, holding farmers in their webs with no way out. This problem is not just happening with one farmer, but around the country the same issues are arising, and Monsanto is winning every one of the court cases. The problem is not that the farmers want to cut costs just for their benefit, the problem is the law (Gimenez).

Another big problem with the manufacturing and farming of genetically modified organisms has to do with their monetary value. Producing them in large quantities is very expensive, due to the fact that the technology needed is advanced and exclusive to companies such as Monsanto. Some people who are opposed to GMOs say that they are concerned that the driving factor in producing genetically altered foods is simply money (Qaim). Along with this, these researchers are also concerned with how helpful GMOs really are in third world countries. Their climates and growing practices are different than here in the United States, or in any other industrialized country, which makes them wonder about how profitable these crops really are in third world agricultures (Qaim).The patenting of the crops will lead companies to higher prices for their seeds, which will not equal out with the money the farmers will receive for their crops. These researchers wonder about the moral practices of companies that produce GMOs that monopolize the crops and "pose a threat to the sustainability of rural communities" (Qaim).

Most genetically modified crops are meant to be "herbicide resistant" ("10 Reasons").  Monsanto is making these disease resistant plants along with the pesticides to spray on them, to double their profit. In the years between 1996 and 2008 farmers in the United States sprayed 338 million pounds of extra herbicide on genetically modified organisms ("10 Reasons"). Increasing the use of pesticides cannot have positive effects on our bodies. We do not need extra artificial chemicals to enter our bodies, since we do not know how they will react. They are foreign, so our bodies would not be used to fighting them off. There has been an increase of deadly allergic reactions when the use of pesticides have been used. "The percentage of Americans with three or more chronic illnesses jumped from 7% to 13% in just 9 years; food allergies skyrocketed, and disorders such as autism, reproductive disorders, digestive problems, and others are on the rise" ("10 Reasons"). Deaths from the genetically modified organisms have already been recorded. A common pesticide, Roundup Ready Weather Max, has caused the deaths of 37 people and has put over 7,000 in the hospital; all from just one pesticide. After all of that, Monsanto still contaminates the water around GMOs, and they have a filtering system to clean the water and to sell it back to these people who desperately need the clean water ("10 Reasons"). Since they are producing these organisms, Monsanto says that they own the rights to all of the crops being grown from their seeds. They are targeting struggling farmers trying to make a living, just to make a superfluous amount of money that they do not need.

Since genetically modified organisms have been produced and distributed, there have been cases where some plants start growing wild. In North Dakota, along roads, cemeteries, and schools, there have been populations of genetically altered plants growing ramped. These plants, "Franken-canola" flowers, have even been cross breeding with other plants to create a new strain of plants that are resistant to many pesticides. These plants are resistant to Roundup, which is one of the main pesticides that are produced. Researchers found that of the 406 plants that 80% of them had at least one genetically altered gene (Urban). This shows that these genetically modified canola plants can thrive in the wild for decades. This study also shows that these plants cannot be controlled from growing rapidly in nature, once they are introduced. There is a lack of monitoring and regulation of GMOs in the United States that allows these plants to produce new and more disease resistant plants (Urban).

Genetically modified organisms have not been proved to safe to consume (Fetters). The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) urges doctors to talk to their patients about a GMO free diet ("10 Reasons"). The genetically modified organisms also have unpredictable consequences that are not yet known to the scientists conducting research on them.  Trans-fats were first introduced and the corporations making them wanted everyone to have them in their kitchens, saying that they are safe to eat (Urban).  It is only after having decades of research on these Trans fats that proves them to be harmful to us. Scientists are worried that these genetically modified organisms can pass on their mutated genes to us, into our digestive system (Urban). Nobody knows how these new strains of bacteria will affect us or our genes. There have been studies on rats saying that when they are fed genetically modified foods, they then give birth to stunted and sterile offspring (Urban). How do we know that this will not happen in humans anytime soon?

Some people don't want to sit back and experience the harmful consequences of genetically modified organisms, and those people happen to be mainly in Europe.  The European Union sets some of the strictest regulations for genetically modified organisms (Hontz-Ward). Labeling is required for GMOs, along with intense testing and research (Hontz-Ward).  Europe has already banned some genetically altered food to be sold in the stores, but they all have to be labeled. Even though some are banned, the United States is pressuring Europe and other countries to accept the use of GMOs and to ban the labeling bills that would require genetically altered foods to have a label indicating the presence of altered genes (Onusic). In Europe, people are well-informed about what they are putting into their bodies; they just stopped buying genetically modified organisms. They would rather pay more money for healthy and non-GMO food without pesticides (Hontz-Ward). If there is no demand for genetically modified organisms, then there will no longer be manufactured (De Mello).  Europeans think that, "the quality of the land is most important, what we have here has to be dealt with wisely and preserved for the future" (Hontz-Ward). People overseas actually care about the wellbeing of their land and resources, along with their bodies and the future of their children.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is ultimately the one who allowed GMOs to be permitted in the supermarkets and widely distributed to the public. They have approved the use and sale of genetically modified foods, but long term safety has not been a primary focus for them. They are ignoring the findings of their own scientists and researchers. These researchers are concerned that these foods were released too early to fully know the affect they will have on our population ("U.S. Regulation"). The USDA also has a range of oversight over the distribution of the genetically modified foods. However, a woman who is the current secretary of agriculture at USDA used to have partial ownership in Monsanto. That is an automatic cause for bias.  These companies say that GMOs are safe, but if their own researchers do not think so, how can we trust them?  There has been very little actual testing on these foods to see if they are safe for the public or for the environment ("U.S. Regulation").  We are supposed to trust that the FDA and the USDA has our best interests at heart, but we do not know that for sure. There have been numerous recalls on so many products, that it is impossible to tell if they are just approving products for their benefit. The FDA wants us to believe that these genetically modified organisms are safe for us, but that is what they said about Kirkland Signature fruit, Fannie May chocolate, and Luna chocolate bars; all of those products have been recalled by the FDA for one reason or another within the last month ("Recalls").

Along with the FDA, the Federal Government has been way too lax on genetically modified organism laws. The government's lacking regulation of GMOs has become an increasing problem in the past years. Many of the health risks posed by these foods are overlooked and not cared for ("10 Reasons"). In the early 2000s, there was an opinion poll that stated that "the majority of U.S. consumers want to know if their food products contain genetically modified material" (Camille). There have been some bills going through Congress to try and get the food companies to label their foods, whether or not they have been genetically altered. There was Proposal 37 in California, which would have required manufacturers to label their products, but it was barely defeated (Bashshur). People who were in opposition to this proposal, donated around 45 million dollars to the campaign to stop the labeling. Monsanto themselves donated close to eight million dollars (Bashshur). That obviously shows that Monsanto is doing something that they do not want the public to find out about. Monsanto complains that so many companies will have to pay more money to put labels on their foods, but they are willing to throw around eight million dollars for just a proposal; that is when we know there is a problem with what they are doing. Even though Proposal 37 was ultimately defeated, there were almost six million votes towards the labeling of the genetically modified organisms. That number suggests a growing interest in the way our food is made and distributed. Proposals just like 37 have been in progress in many different states around the United States (Bashshur).

Genetically modified organisms could be slowly killing us, but nobody would know that since no long span research has been done on them. Monsanto says that they have done their own research that says that genetically modified organisms, "are not harmful to people nor the environment" ("Our Commitment"). However, how can the public really trust a giant corporation that is obviously biased to the production of GMOs? If they said that their own seeds are bad for us, then they would go out of business and lose all of their investments in these organisms. Monsanto tells the FDA that these seeds have been checked over and over again by their scientists, but these workers have their livelihood at stake here. Monsanto says that they are doing all that they can to stop world hunger and provide third world countries with the supplies they need to grow a "sustainable agriculture" ("Our Commitment"). They say that they have the public's interest at heart and that it is their first priority to help out developing nations, but how can the public trust them when they have lied about their company many times in the past.

Another example of how genetically modified organisms are hurting the world around us is with the pollen that the crops are giving off. Pollen from the genetically modified crops are contaminating the crops around them. Also the lakes and streams that are near some of these farms have pesticides leaking into them. This is killing off aquatic life in those bodies of water and making certain animals endangered. "GMOs cross pollinate and their seeds can travel. It is impossible to fully clean up our contaminated gene pool" ("10 Reasons"). These pesticides that farmers are using seep into the ground and can even change the property of soil which will alter all other plants growing in that area along with insects living there. Research has shown that bird populations are being reduced 90% in areas of genetically modified organisms. It's not just birds and insects that are being affected by genetically modified organisms.  In a farm in Iowa, a group of farmers noticed that their pigs were having abnormal pregnancies ("10 Reasons"). They studied their pigs for a while and took them to the vet several times. They could not figure out what was harming the pigs and their offspring. The farmers then stopped feeding their pigs genetically altered corn, and their pregnancies returned to normal. If these genetically modified organisms are already hurting and killing animals and insects, it is inevitable that it will start happening widespread in humans.

Genetically modified organisms might seem to be helpful in other countries, but they are unnecessary here in the United States. They are causing more harm than good, with even some deaths attributed to them. We are harming our bodies, along with supporting the mistreatment of animals when we consume food that has been genetically altered. The public needs to know what they are putting into their bodies and to be allowed to make an informed decision on what they are feeding their families. GMOs are a growing business, with giant corporations exploiting the small business farmers along with the general public. We do not know exactly how genetically modified organisms are affecting our bodies, but we do know now that there are definitely negative consequences to many people who consume them. Companies like Monsanto keep feeding the FDA and USDA with lies that their foods are safe to consume, but in reality they do not even know what harmful affect they will have. When the company itself does not even know what is going to happen to people who consume them, then why are they still legal and not regulated in our homes, groceries, and country.
