Why you should avoid GMOs

1. GMOs have increased the use of herbicides.

One of the main selling points of genetic engineering is the creation of more pest-resistant crops. This is a double-edged sword however as chemical- and pest-resistant weeds infest farmers’ fields. In an effort to control the “superweeds” that have sprung up, farmers use more and more herbicides to kill them, but the resistant weeds are still growing–the rate at which they are spreading increased by 25% in 2011, and 51% in 2012. These dangerous chemicals are used in higher and higher amounts as an answer to increased resistance, eventually making their way into your body via the food you eat.

2. The impact of GMOs is poorly understood, and they have the potential to cause disease.

There is no requirement that the safety of GMOs be guaranteed, or even researched. The research is left up to the manufacturer, and why would a company like Monsanto (one of the world’s leading producers of genetically engineered seed) acknowledge the danger of the products they sell?
There is significant evidence beginning to surface that GMO foods promote disease. A study published in 2012 showed that rats on a diet of GMO corn suffered increased tumor growth and early mortality when compared to a control group. Similar studies on GMO animal feed prompted the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) to publicly denounce GMOs in the food supply, warning that “it is biologically plausible for Genetically Modified Foods to cause adverse health effects in humans.” GMOs have been correlated with a long list of health problems, including thyroid cancer, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and infertility.
Crops are genetically altered to make them weather- and pest-resistant. Corn has been engineered to produce a natural insecticide, called Bt-toxin, which kills insects by destroying the cell walls of their digestive tract. This potent chemical can’t be washed off–it’s part of the genetic makeup of GMO corn. Bt-toxin is not specific to insects and has been shown to poke holes in human cells, damaging the intestines and causing leaky gut.

3. GMOs cross-contaminate non-GMO crops.

Perhaps the biggest reason to avoid GMOs is that if we continue to grow them, it’s possible we won’t be left with any crops that haven’t been genetically engineered. Farmers can’t protect against cross-pollination by wind and insects, and the resulting seed will be a hybrid of their non-GMO crop with the GMO crop. Corn is one of the most commonly genetically engineered foods, with about 90% of it being GMO, and due to cross-pollination, that remaining 10% is not guaranteed to be GMO-free. Because we don’t understand the impact of consuming GMOs, it’s clear that we need to understand the gravity of this situation before we are left without