GMOs
Against
Potential Health Risks
- Genetically modified plants pose the risk of introducing a new allergen to the population and might risk others with allergies because unrelated genes are incorporated into products
- For example, a fish gene can be placed into a wheat crop
- The bacteria in our bodies could pick up the antibiotic-resistance genes of the GM food and facilitate the spread of disease-causing bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics
GM Technology Will Hurt Small Farmers
Patents
Due to agribusiness, GM agriculture are patenting genetically altered crops. This will cause small farmers to be under the thumb of larger farmers and risk to law suits if they grow these crops without their permission.
Too Expensive
The farmers of the developing countries are not able to afford the growing prices of the GM crops, therefore these crops will never be able to help those that it sets out to assist. In addition, this will further exacerbate the gap between the rich and the poor.
Homogeneous Crops
Small farmers are used to grow an array of crops, but under GM agriculture they will be forced to grow only one crop due to finances.
Harming the Environment
- GM crops risk harming other wildlife, such as the monarch butterflies
- Only 56% of monarch larvae survived when fed plants covered in GM products, where all those fed traditional pollen lived
- Mosquitoes have also become tolerant of DDT and have the potential of becoming "superbugs"
- There has been much talk about the possibilities of "superweeds" that will be resistant to herbicides and damage crop yields
Crimes Against Nature
- Many people feel that GMOs are committing crimes against nature because they are altering the natural sequence of agriculture
- Critics believe that GMOs are attempting to play God by substituting human intervention for natural selection
- GMOs are also profit driven and in reality care about the return on their investment
- This is proven through their attention on high-volume crops, such as corn and cotton, and not on the crops that might feed the suffering people in LDCs