Why is food so important? Human beings need many things to survive. The third most essential thing for life after air and water is food. This shows us the importance of food for living (Flint, 2019). Food is the only source of essential energy for the body. Our body functions work by taking advantage of food energy. At the same time, nutrients are necessary for growth, development and repair of wounds in our bodies. Food used to come from nature. People would either grow their food in their fields or hunt animals. They did not have any machines. With the development of technology, there have been lots of changes. There have been many variations in food with the advent of fast food restaurants and supermarkets.
Food with genetically modified organisms was produced. What is a Genetically Modified Organism? “A GMO is the result of a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal… GMOs are also known as ‘transgenic’ organisms” (Institue For Responsible Technology, n.d.). Although Brody (2018) argues that GMO is a useful thing in many ways and it can be helpful for every creature, I strongly disagree with such a notion. I am of the opinion that the Brody’s research and what he is trying to explain is inadequate and that in many other countries, including Turkey, such a thing was not preferred and will not prefer. I believe that GMO is detrimental from a personal, environmental and animal point of view.
I disagree with the Brody’s opinion that foods with GMO are harmless to health and can treat irreversible diseases. Brody (2018) says that there have been no health problems since the emergence of genetically modified foods, that getting more vitamins and proteins from foods can be achieved with GMO, that there can be a solution to diseases and even death as well, but this is not true because GMO is a hazardous experiment which carried on our world and on living beings. According to Demirkol (as cited in Akgüneş, 2012), since the emergence of foods with GMO, allergy diseases in the United States have increased four times more than normal, and deaths have increased.
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In addition, foods with GMO cause cancer, disability births, infertility, organ damage, obesity and many other health problems. In some studies, it has been reported that 100% of the insect poison secreted by GMOs cannot be broken down in the digestive system and most of the insecticidal toxins contained in GMOs are found in the blood and fetus of pregnant women. In another study conducted in Italy, GMO gene parts were found in 25% of the milk taken from the markets (Greenpeace, n.d.). Furthermore; if we use GMO, we can provide more vitamins (Brody, 2018). However; according to US Department of Agriculture (as cited in Çeliktaban, 2014), GMO was applied to tomatoes in the first years when GMO emerged and nutritional values were considerably lower than natural tomatoes, less vitamin A and less vitamin C were found.
Another significant point that I do not agree with is that GMO helps farmers increase yields and ensures environmental safety. In the Brody’s article, as a result of 76 analyzes in the scientific studies, Brody (2018) explains that genetically modified foods have higher yields than non-genetically modified foods and it helps farmers by using less pesticides, resulting in lower costs, increased availability and environmental safety but certainly such a thought is untenable. How was yield of food achieved before GMO emerged? It was achieved by natural ways.
With the disappearance of natural ways and the replacement of different methods, efficiency cannot be achieved as before because seeds with GMO have weaker crops, malnutrition and they are affected by the smallest environmental stress and drought. The crops do not grow in all soils and require expensive chemicals and fertilizers. These pesticides and fertilizers increase the cost, create addiction and have negative effects on human and environment (Uner, 2017). The seed is in the hands of a single company, it determines seeds’ price as it wishes and may not sell the seed when it does not. These seeds are infertile, so that only the seed can be harvested once. As a result, for such reasons, it costs the farmer more. Besides these, there are GMOs which secrete venom. These GMOs transfer their poisons from their roots to the soil and accumulation of these poisons in time causes harm to the environment.
GMO does not only affect negatively humans and the environment but also animals. Brody’s article (2018) says that the health and efficiency of animals increased with GMO but I disagree with this opinion because even animals, which do not feed on GMO, get harm from GMO. For example, GMOs which secrete poison cause death of harmless living creatures such as butterflies. To give another example, pest-eating birds in GMO agricultural areas and living creatures that eat poison-secreting GMOs are dying. For this reason, biodiversity is running into danger. In addition, using animals for experimental purposes and poor results of these experiments affect the environment badly. According to a study conducted in France, mice were given experimental GMO foods and as a result of these experiment, interesting tumors occurred in the chests of mice and many mice died. In fact, tumors in these mice specified how dangerous GMO is for human health and it caused the death of many animals.
To sum up, I certainly disagree with Brody’s thought that GMO is a beneficial thing in many ways. GMO is a method of later adding of things which are not naturally acquired through genes. How good, healthy and correct is acquire something that is not naturally possessed? GMOs cause lethal allergens, disruption of hormonal balance, decrease of biodiversity, ecosystem, agriculture and destruction of living things. According to Özkaya (as cited in Aksoy, 2012), there are no differences between genetically modified foods and atomic bombs. In addition, genetically modified organisms can enter our body easily from meat, milk and eggs of animals which feed with GMO feed. So what can we do to protect against GMOs? Do not consume prepared-food as much as possible, try to make it yourself at home. Stay away from imported products, do not buy products of different colors and characteristics. Do not use foods such as fat, flour, starch produced from corn and soy. Consume lots of green tea, artichokes, garlic and ginger with antioxidant properties.
References
- Akgüneş, G. (2012, November 9). It is a crime of humanity to feed the GMO product!.Milliyet. Retrieved from http://www.milliyet.com.tr/gundem/gdo-lu-urunu-yedirmek-bir-insanlik-sucudur-1639547Aksoy, S. (2012, March 3).
- Framing the debates regarding to genetically modified organisms in the Turkish press. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/download/article-file/177774
- Brody, J.E. (2018). Personal Health: Are GMO foods safe?. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/23/well/eat/are-gmo-foods-safe.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fjane-e.brody&action=click&contentCollection=undefined®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=59&pgtype=collection
- Çeliktaban, D. (2014, May 29). Baby foods with GMO and facts of GMO. Habertürk.Retrieved from https://www.haberturk.com/yazarlar/damla-celiktaban-2250/952669-gdolu-mamalar-ve-gdo-gercekleri
- Flint, L. (2019). Why is food important?. Retrieved from https://www.quora.com/Why-is-food- important
- Greenpeace. (n.d.). Damages of GMOs. Retrieved from http://www.greenpeace.org/turkey/tr/harekete-gec/yemezler/gdonun-zararlari/#a1
- Institue For Responsible Technology. (n.d.). GMO education: What is a GMO?. Retrievedfrom https://responsibletechnology.org/gmo-education/
- Üner, D. (2017). Bio-Economy: Environmental damages of GMOs. Retrieved fromhttp://duyguuner.com/gdonun-cevreye-verdigi-zararlar/
