Genetically Modified Crops: Are The Concerns Valid?

Genetically Modified Crops: Are The Concerns Valid?

We know that there are speculations about the health risks and the environmental risks of genetically modified crops. We also hear a lot about how genetically modified crops may end world hunger and make foods tastier, healthier, and so on and so forth. The first reason that concerns may be valid is the history of some companies that produce genetically modified seeds and growth hormones for cows is Monsanto, who "...produced two of the most toxic substances ever known -- polychlorinated biphenyls, known as PCBs, and dioxin" (Minton). Monsanto's past products and the results of those products is not disclosed on the company's website. One thing that may raise some questions is why genetically modified food does not have to be labelled. Would people buy food if they knew it was genetically modified? It is said that the consumer's right to know whether their food is genetically modified or not is being challenged (Singh, Ghai, Paul, & Jain, 2006).What research has been done on genetically modified crops? Well, people often hear about how our wheat is extremely different than wheat from two or three generations ago. A group of "Russian scientists found that hamsters fed genetically modified soybeans were sterile after three generations and had fur growing on their tongues" (Willmont, 2011). One must wonder what the genetically modified soybeans and wheat are doing to the human body. There is also proof now that the pest resistance genetically modified crops boast of actually just causes insects to adapt, like "the diamond black moth, an important pest to Brassica crop worldwide, was the first documented pest to develop resistance to Bt toxins" so powerful insecticides will have to be used on the genetically modified crops (Singh, Ghai, Paul, & Jain, 2006). On the...