Genetically Modified Foods

Thom Murphy

The furore over genetically modified food is Just the latest in a long line of people reacting because they are frightened of change. Despite the strangely emotional lo0by against GM food, the movement does raise some salient points.
The genetic modification of food is an important step on the ladder of scientific development, and can lead to plants 0ecoming resistant to disease, yielding higher quality and quantity of fruits and even growing more quickly. These practices will enable the amount of food grown to 0e increased massively, which could potentially, if not solve, go a long way to alleviate the pro0lem of famine or world hunger. It could lead to a fall in the use of pesticides, as they would not 0e needed for use on plants with natural genetic resistance to insects. GM crops will 0e a0le to grow in climates that would be totally inhospita0le to unmodified plants, allowing new sources of food to 0e grown in countries without the .environmental strain of flyir1g in the foodstuffs from all over the world. The credibility of all research done regarding the ill effects of GM food is in doubt, and thus all evidence found here should 0e taken with a large pinch of salt.
There are several pieces of evidence that genetically modified food may be bad for people, and even if these results are not steeped in scientific credibility the findings should be researched, analyzed and developed to ensure the product is safe before they gain universal release. Farms specifically devoted to GM food, like most other dedicated agricultural establishments, will lead to a unilateral habitat being established that could not support other forms of life; due to a change of environment and other factors such as pesticides. These areas of cropland would destroy the places where countless insects and other small animals live, hunt and breed. By altering the genomes of these plants, this could easily give rise'to new diseases in the future that human beings would have no genetic resistance to. This problem must be avoided at all costs. Similarly, like all branches of big business, genetically modified farming would lead to the people involved being solely focused on profit-making rather than ethical practices. This would lead to the soul of rural areas being ripped out, and many communities being destroyed.
In conclusion, it is integral that the process of created genetically modified foodstuffs must be closely monitored by independent, disinterested watchdog-style organizations. With these ombudsmen in place, the genetic modification of food can lead to massive developments in how we feed people and in the quality of foods.