What Even Is a GMO?

'GMO' stands for genetically modified organism. Why would we want modified foods in our diets? Well it turns out there mat be a plethora of economic and biological benefits (and cons).

What really are GMOs?

GMOs are genetically modified organisms, meaning its DNA was manually changed by inserting a gene into a single cell so that it divides and expresses the desired gene(s).

2. Common foods with GMOs

Summer Squash
Apples
Pink Pineapple
Potateos
Atlantic Salmon
Sugar Beets
Alfalfa
Papaya
Soybeans
Corn
Cotton
Canola
GalSafe Pig

Besides foods, medicial products like vaccines, paper, and certain bacteria.

3. Why do we use GMOs: the GMO Pros and Cons

Farming and agriculture:

PRO: Often, GMOs are used to help farmers avoid major crop-losses due to natural disasters, such as droughts and floods, or make their crops resistant to certain herbicides or insects.

CON: An unfortunate side-effect of breeding insect- or herbicide-resistant crops, means it is significantly more difficult to control the over-growth of weeds or manage crops with pesticides. These "super plants" can become a major threat to crop production, care, and regulation.

Food and nutrition:

PRO: GMOs can add nutrients to food, such as engineering golden rice to increase its beta carotene content, through a process called biofortification. This process is extremely beneficial for malnourished populations. GMOs can also help certain produce stay fresh for longer and make them significantly larger in size, thereby increasing the caloric and nutrient densities of a product to save consumers money (paying similar amounts for more food, presumably) and treat malnourishment.

CON: According to the Center for Food Safety, there is an increased risk of "not previously identified toxins...(e.g., pesticides or heavy metals)" in foods that are genetically modified. This can trigger allergic reactions or increase risk for certain diseases, like cancer. However, many of these studies have been conducted in non-human animal trials, so if you are concerned for your risk of any of these conditions, please consult a medical professional and do more research.

Medicine, biotechnology, and the environment:

PRO: Scientists have successfully genetically modified bacteria and human-produced materials to create vaccines, medications, and more. A well-known example of these creations is synthetic insulin, derived and edited from the human-produced hormone insulin (which you can read more about here or here) to help treat diabetes mellitus patients.

PRO: GMOs have been proven to effectively improve phytoremediation, a process that uses autotrophs to clarify contaminated/poulted soil, water, and air. This improves the quality of living for plants and animals that risk consuming polluted substances.

CON: Similar to how GMOs can affect a farmer's ability to control weed and crop growth by growing resistant to pesticides, many bacteria grow resistsant to antibiotics (especially bacteria related to infections or other diseases) and can make it difficult for physicians and pharmacists to tackle pathogennic bacteria-related conditions.

4. GMO bodily side effects?

Reportedly, some genetically modified foods can trigger allergic reactions in individuals who otherwise wouldn't have had a reaction to the organic counterpart. However, food and drug regulations test GMOs for allergens to minimize this negative effect.
Other physiological concerns related to GMOs include:
- infertility
- immune problems
- accelerated aging
- gastrointestinal changes (e.g., the microbiome or stool changes)

5. TLDR: What to keep in mind

If you consider yourself someone to be overly sensitive to GMOs or other chemical-heavy products, it may be best to reach for the organic options at the grocery store. However, for most, GMOs can be a cheaper food option and have been benefiting our population's quality of life in more ways than you realize!

Written by: Siena Bush

Sources:

[1] "What are GMOS?" Purdue University College of Agriculture. https://ag.purdue.edu/gmos/what-are-gmos.html

[2] "GMO Crops, Animal Food, and Beyond," Food and Drug Administration (FDA). https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/gmo-crops-animal-food-and-beyond

[3] "Genetically modified foods: Helpful or harmful?" Piedmont. https://www.piedmont.org/living-real-change/genetically-modified-foods-helpful-or-harmful

[4] "Genetically modified organism," Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_organism