Why are genetically modified foods grabbing recent headlines and vilified by many? Most people are already aware of organic foods, even if they don't understand how they differ. However, this new craze is about the recent engineering and production of genetically modified or engineered (GMO or GMO) foods and the implications that come with it. A genetically modified food is a product whose DNA has been artificially altered in the laboratory by genes from other plants, animals, viruses or bacteria, in order to produce foreign compounds in that food. The correct scientific term is “transgenic” and this type of alteration is not found in nature, it is experimental. There have been recent FDA and USDA regulations passed stating that some of the GMO and GMO foods do, in fact, meet safety regulations. However, this is a very controversial issue today in America and not everyone accepts such claims, especially since the amount of food was once limited. GMO “foods” are linked to increased allergies, tumor growth, decreased crop yields, and are harmful to all of us on every level. The American people should be warned that their access to knowledge about these harmful products in their food is no longer a government requirement, but a privilege, and is slowly diminishing. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The fact that “GMOs have not been proven safe and the long-term risks to human health from genetically modified foods have not been adequately studied” (Gillam) should spark some interest in all of us. It definitely sparked an interest in me. Three years ago I discovered what GMOs are and what impact they have on our environment, but what struck me most about the topic is that there are only inconclusive tests to show the long-term consequences of consuming these types of food products. Since GMOs were introduced into the commercial food supply in 1996, there is no way that tests have proven that GMOs actually have no impact on our health. As a consumer, this really upset me because I really don't know if the food I'm giving my body will have any harmful effects. I never want to lose the willingness to know what's in the food I put in my body, and I think most people agree. A recent study conducted in 2012 by CBS/NYT found that 89% of Americans are wary of concerns about GMO foods and want them labeled, so why haven't we seen regulations for such labeling yet? With the recent increase in genetically modified foods, we will eat more GMOs than ever before. “There has been a crossing of natural crops and species with genetically modified ones. Crossbreeding is guaranteed with alfalfa and most likely with corn. When ethanol corn cross-pollinates feed corn, the results degrade the feed corn. When genetically modified alfalfa cross-pollinates organic alfalfa, that alfalfa is no longer organic” (Bittman). What Americans, and people around the world are starting to understand, is the high saturation of GMOs in the food industry. This brings us to one of the most concerning topics, which is that “The organic dairy industry will suffer immediate and frightening losses when genetically modified alfalfa is widely cultivated, since many dairy cows eat dried alfalfa (hay) , and contamination of organic alfalfa means milkanimals fed with that hay can no longer be called organic." Soon most of the earth's animals will be raised on this feed, making it almost impossible to find something that doesn't contain GMOs. Likewise, “when feed corn is contaminated with GMO ethanol corn, the resulting products will not be organic” (Bittman). At the current rate at which we are seeing the integration of GMOs into the world's food supply, they will be inevitable, especially since the government has stopped enforcing the requirement that any organic food containing 5% or more GMOs must be labeled in this way. way. If this only applies to organic food, what about food that isn't organic? “The FDA and USDA do not require any of these products or the foods containing them to be labeled as genetically modified because they do not want to 'suggest or imply' that these foods are 'different'” (Bittman). The USDA joins the FDA in not considering genetically modified foods as materially different, but on the other hand limits the amount present in organic foods. The most recent bill proposed in the Vermont Senate last week also states: "that foods produced from genetically modified crops 'potentially present health, safety, agricultural and environmental risks' and should be labeled." (Gillam). The government is not doing everything in its power to protect the health of its citizens, but rather is providing us with biased tests and information. “Last October, a group of 93 international scientists released a statement saying they lacked empirical and scientific evidence to support what they said were false claims the biotech industry was making about a safety “consensus.” The group stated that more independent research is needed as studies demonstrating safety tend to be funded and supported by the biotechnology industry” (Gillam). This shows that the tests provided and relied upon to ensure the safety of GMO and GMO foods are safe, come from the companies producing the GMO products. Therefore, the validity and credibility of the health reports of these products are highly questioned. “Most of our food already contains GMOs, and there's no reason to think more isn't on the way. It seems that our "regulators" are using us and the environment as guinea pigs, instead of requiring conclusive testing. And without labeling, we have no say” (Bittman). European food must be labeled if it contains 0.9% or more of GMOs and “In the absence of reliable health and safety data, many national governments around the world have taken measures to minimize the presence of GMO foods in the within their borders. Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Luxembourg have enacted bans on the cultivation and import of GM products, and nearly 50 nations around the world require all GM foods to be labeled as such” (Dahl). The nurses' association is among many medical groups that condemn the use of GMOs. Even though the government claims these are safe, we are smart enough to personally examine the scientific evidence from credible sources and decide whether these foods are good or not. for our health. For example, "milk from cows treated with genetically modified bovine growth hormone, which the FDA had declared safe to drink, contains more hormone IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1), which is linked to cancer " (APHANA). By mixing genes from totally unrelated species, genetic engineering unleashes a variety of unpredictable side effects. This is how they are formed,.