Genetic research has expanded the bandwidth of opportunities for addressing an array of issues associated with managing the threats of genetic mutations and their negative outcomes. However, with the rise in genetic research, the discovery and further use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have occurred (Seralini 2). Though GMOs have a certain potential as the path toward understanding the mechanism of genetic predisposition and change, its disadvantages entailing threats to people’s health, suggest that GMOs must not be used in food production.
The adverse effects of GMOs have been debated quite heavily over the past few decades. Although the lack of consistency in the negative impact that GMOs may produce is often viewed as an argument in their favor, it is, in fact, the evidence against GMOs (Napier et al. 564). Namely, since the impact of GMOs are largely unpredictable when they are consumed by individuals, the threats that GMOs pose are too difficult to manage, hence the need to exclude them from the food industry.
Additionally, the issue of the toxicity of GMOs needs to be addressed. Research indicates that many GMOs have impressively high toxicity rates (Seralini 3). Though the specified outcome is described as long-term, the accumulated effect of the extended use of GMO-rich products is likely to cause noticeably adverse changes in public health (Seralini 2). Therefore, GMOs represent a major threat that must be contained.
Finally, when examining the side effects of GMOs as food constituents, one must mention the lack of consistency in their nutritional value. Namely, Napier et al. research indicates that many GMO-containing products expected to manage issues such as the lack of Vitamin A have been “stuck in development limbo” (563). As a result, the current impact of GMO-based products is still largely under-researched, leading to poor nutritional value in GMO-based products.
Despite certain benefits, particularly the opportunity to enhance crops’ resilience, GMOs pose a massive threat to people’s health due to the unpredictability of their influence, hence the need to exclude them from food production. Being heavily under-researched, the impact of GMOs also hinges significantly on individual factors, such as the presence of specific allergies, in individuals, which means that mitigating health-related threats of GMOs completely is impossible. Thus, GMOs must not be used as supplements or substitutes for specific products in the food industry.
Works Cited
Napier, Johnathan A., et al. “The Challenges of Delivering Genetically Modified Crops with Nutritional Enhancement Traits.” Nature Plants, vol. 5, no. 6, 2019, pp. 563-567.
Seralini, Gilles-Eric. “Update on Long-Term Toxicity of Agricultural GMOs Tolerant to roundup.” Environmental Sciences Europe, vol. 32, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1-7.