As Ramez Naam, a technologist and writer, once said, “(GMO) foods are feared and hated by environmentalists and the public alike. Yet . . . . Every major scientific evaluation of GMO technology has concluded that GMOs are safe for human consumption.” As the name suggests, Genetically Modified Organisms are plants and animals whose genes were altered to benefit someone. Although, Markets are rejecting Genetically Modified Crops, the reason being that consumers are afraid of it.
This action hurts farmers and the potential benefit it may bring to people who need GMOs. Genetically Modified Food should not be banned from markets because it can prolong living and help farmers. Even if the wealthy and healthy do not need GM foods, GM foods can help patients and people in poverty. As the journal, The World Needs Genetically Modified Food, one pointed out, “ Poor consumers who don’t get enough vitamin A from their rice-only diets could be better protected against blindness if their farmers had permission to plant so-called Golden Rice, which has been genetically engineered with high beta-carotene content.
” When countries or people who need more nutrients and minerals than normal receive enhanced food, it benefits them. Otherwise, there is a possibility that they die of starvation, disease, etc… It can also help patients according to Bruce J. Holub, a professor of human health and nutritional sciences, in the magazine, Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, “‘ Most people will be cured of their borderline high levels in four weeks,’ says Holub. ‘ That’s low-cost, effective health care using agri-foods as a sort of pharmacy for disease prevention.’” As he mentions, having better food to eat can help patients recover incredibly fast. When a person is dying of malnutrition or a deficiency disease, GM foods can work like medicine. If GM foods are available in stores, it can cure and help people live a longer life. However, Jeff Wheelwright, the author of the article, Don’t Eat Again Until You Read This, argues otherwise.
Wheelwright explains, “ A pair of researchers, LaReesa Wolfenbarger and P. R. Phifer, reviewed some three dozen published studies of genetically modified crops and concluded that much more was unknown than known about environmental effects.” It is true that there is no reported side effect caused by GMOs, which is a good thing. Again, as Ramez Naam observes, GMOs have gone through many tests and are safe to eat. Being paranoid of a new technology does not help people who are unhealthy or close to death’s door. At the very least, if GMOs are labelled and shelved in stores, people can choose whether to purchase the product. GMO needs to be available to the people who need it the most, if not to the well-off.
Moreover, when markets ban GM crops, farmers need GM crops to make a living, do not make a profit. “ Farmers and consumers in East Africa currently vulnerable to hunger and destitution when drought hits their maize fields would be more secure if growers had permission to plant GMO drought-resistant varieties,” a journalist, Robert Paarlberg notes. Farmers need GM crops in areas where there is extreme drought, flooding, or consecutive natural disasters. Also, farmers’ source of income comes from the markets that shelf their crops. Without a buyer, farmers are not able to generate income, which is essential to living. Altogether, in order to help the impoverished, ill, and hard workers, stores need to unban GM foods. Having stores shelf GM food is incredibly helpful to people who need it and the people who grow it.
GM foods can save lives and suspend deaths. Have your local supermarket unban GMOs by calling them. Think of the people who are unfortunate and line of work is associated with food. Paranoia, fear and hatred should not stop something that some people, if not all, need to live.
