Genetically Modified Food are Pandora´s Box to Humans and the Environment

“Genetically modified foods are a "Pandora's box" of known and unknown risks to humans and the environment. They have been forced onto the American public by multinational biotech and agribusiness corporations without adequate oversight and regulation by the United States government (Driscoll, SallyMorley, David C).”Genetically Modified Food is food which has been chemically altered by scientists during the production process to give the food more nutrients, better appearance, and a longer shelf-life (Rich, Alex K.Warhol, Tom). The importance of this issue is that these GMO’s can actually have a negative effect in our society in general. It could mutate in a negative way and cause cancer or other diseases. Genetically modified food should be strictly controlled due to its various detrimental effects on the environment, human health, and potentially insect/animal effects.

Of course people are going to oppose for genetically modified foods because they are much more favorable in quality and production potential. These foods are chemically designed to be high quality bred foods, the best of the best. Ismail Serageldin, speaking on behalf of the World Bank, called the use of GM crops "crucial" to developing countries in the twenty-first century. He said such crops "could be a tremendous help in meeting the challenge of feeding an additional three billion human beings, 95 percent of them in the poor developing countries, on the same amount of land and water currently available." He is right in his statement as it is true that these foods will be able to sustain the people on this earth. But I say, for how long? If we already have a lot of people, and we put more food on the planet, the number of people on earth will increase even faster! Then we find ourselves fifty years later with probably 15 billion people, no space, and limited on potentially harming food. It will be the same situation we are in now, but worse!

Genetically modified foods could cross-pollinate with other plants and create an entirely new species. In addition, there is the danger of biotech-resistant weeds and insects evolving. GMO’s have the potential to alter ecosystems in significant ways. Companies are currently engineering salmon, tilapia, carp, and other fish to promote faster growth or to provide resistance to certain diseases. Aquaculture farms are located in oceans and other bodies of water and the fish escape the nets regularly, ecologists worry that genetically modified fish could breed with natural fish.