Eduardo Santiago

Mrs. Roy
AP Humanities
8 March 2015

Ban on Genetically Modified Organisms

In the United States today a huge portion of the most commonly grown crops are genetically
engineered. 94% of soybeans, 90% of cotton, and 88% of feed corn are GMOs. The purpose of
this paper is to show you why GMOs are indeed as bad as people make them out to be. GMOs,
or genetically modified organism, are living organisms whose genetic material has been
artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering. Even though GMOs are
allowed in the United States they have been restricted or even all out banned in other countries;
and for good reason too, which means our government should follow the lead of more than 60
countries worldwide including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Nation

No one really knows any of the side effects or long term effects that GMOs have on our
bodies. According to biologist Lisa Weasel There are too many unknowns. There arent enough
studies really documenting that they are safe. All of the safety data that is submitted to our
government is sent in by the companies who are producing the GMOs; therefore we may find

that the companies may be hiding some of the truth just so that they can ensure profit. When the
government receives the data from the companies they just review the data to make sure that
what is outlined in the studies complies with rules for that specific kind of food.

Another alarming problem with having GMOs is the potential for cross pollination between
crops that have been genetically modified and those that are a related species and have not been
genetically modified thus lessening the genetic diversity of the crops. Here in the United States,
organic farmers have filed lawsuits against the USDA for allowing the planting of GM sugar
beets because the GM traits could possibly spread into closely related species. Most of the
genetically modified crops have been engineered to become resistant to herbicide, but one
solution only makes room for another problem.

The amount of chemicals used on GM crops since the year 1994 to 2005 and increased 15fold. According to a July 2007 study by researchers at the Public Health Institute, the California
Department of Health Services, and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health found a sixfold
increase in the risk factor for autism spectrum disorders for the children of women who had been
exposed to organochlorine pesticides. Chronic health effects may even occur years after minimal
exposure to pesticides that we may come into contact with through our food or our water.

The companies who produce GMOs will always try to put on a display of how they are trying
to use GM crops to try and help with certain deficiencies that some people suffer from. For

example take golden rice, a genetically engineered strain of rice that contains beta carotene
which your body converts into vitamin A. Golden rice was genetically engineered 10 years ago
with the hope of sending it to developing countries to help with vitamin A deficiencies, but
opposition by the developing countries have kept it out of the food supply. All of that time and
money was spent trying to create golden rice and in the end was even rejected by the countries it
was meant to help.

With so many things that can and have gone wrong with GMOs, the United States should
follow the example set forth by countries like Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the
European nation and ban genetically modified organisms from our supermarkets and from being
sold here overall.

Works Cited:
"GMO Facts." The NonGMO Project RSS. Nongmoproject.org, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
"GMO Foods." Commonground GMO Foods Comments. Kristie Swenson/CommonGround, n.d.
Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
"Newsroom." Monsanto. Monsanto, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015.
"The Problem with Pesticides." The Problem with Pesticides. Toxics Action, n.d. Web. 11 Feb.
2015.
"Should the U.S. Ban Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)?" Should the U.S. Ban
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)? N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.