GMO's and Monsanto, Evil? Yes, Yes They Are.

Genetically modified food can be patented – this is a problem because if a company creates genetically modified food and then takes it out of the lab and puts it into nature, there’s almost no way of getting back all of the genetically modified food because of vertical and horizontal gene transfer (horizontal gene trans. Trade related intellectual property rights make that genetically modified crop the property of the company who creates it. So if the genetically modified organism is found on someone’s property who did not buy it, then they can be sued. Trouble is, crops are living organisms and they reproduce. Seeds can fly off trucks or plants can migrate in other ways. There’s no way to prevent a genetically modified organism from coming on to your land one hundred percent of the time.

Genetically modified organisms reduce biological diversity and may also cause health problems we’re not aware of yet because the FDA has said they were identical to food and thus required no testing. If you remember from my previous entry, the man who oversaw the decision to not label genetically modified organisms also worked for Monsanto, the company who is producing all of the genetically modified crops. It is unlawful to not let consumers choose whether or not they want to purchase a genetically modified organism just because the FDA said they were not harmful. The FDA should not have even allowed genetically modified foods on the market because they are untested. It’s not like technology where we advance – nature gives us perfectly great food already. Genetically modifying an organism by selectively breeding it is something that nature produces by manipulation – genetically modifying a crop by taking genes from a trout and putting in a tomato is not something that would be made by nature. Nature is not something that should be toyed with, let alone have the results of toying with it in most of the foods Americans consume.

It will be years before we can determine whether or not genetically modified foods are harmful, but they will become more and more prolific as time goes on. Over 90% of soybeans in the U.S. are the genetically modified organism that Monsanto put out. We will lose more and more genetic diversity as more and more genetically modified organisms are released into the world, and we will never be able to get back the original organisms that couldn’t compete with their genetically modified counterparts. Let’s just hope it doesn’t lead to a disaster.