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Are GMOs good or bad? Are GMOs good or bad?
GMOs are bad GMOs are bad
GMOs are good GMOs are good
GMOs are neither good nor bad GMOs are neither good nor bad
There are health concerns related to GMOs There are health concerns related to GMOs
GMOs are harmful to the environment GMOs are harmful to the environment
There are legal and socioeconomic risks associated with GMOs There are legal and socioeconomic risks associated with GMOs
GMOs are not natural GMOs are not natural
GMOs have been proven safe GMOs have been proven safe
GMOs can lower expenses for farmers and lower the price of food GMOs can lower expenses for farmers and lower the price of food
GMOs can help address world hunger GMOs can help address world hunger
GMOs are good for the environment GMOs are good for the environment
We don’t have enough testing for the long-term health effects We don’t have enough testing for the long-term health effects
All GMOs can’t be evaluated as one category All GMOs can’t be evaluated as one category
There are both good and bad aspects of GMOs There are both good and bad aspects of GMOs
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Are GMOs good or bad?
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GMOs are bad

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GMOs are not natural

GMOs have modifications that do not appear naturally. Genetic engineering can also cause unintended changes to the organism's DNA which can be difficult to test for and could be unsafe. People should not eat unnatural food.
Dr Janet Cotter
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The Argument

The European Union defines a GMO as “an organism, with the exception of human beings, in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination”.[1] A GMO is an organism that does not appear in nature and we should only be putting natural food into our bodies. Apples that don’t get brown and potatoes that don’t bruise are not natural. According to USDA organic regulations, GMOs are not allowed in organic products; farmers/processors must show that they aren’t using GMOs and that they are protecting their food from contact with GMOs.[2] This supports the idea that GMOs are not natural. Despite this, these products are still be marketed as natural. This is deceitful and doesn’t allow the consumer to decide for themselves if they want to consume GMOs. There are reasons to be distrustful of GMOs. Genetic engineering has unintentionally introduced additional fragments of genes to a plant’s DNA and gene-editing (altering the organism’s DNA instead of inserting new genetic material) can have “off-target effects” which means that DNA at a different location can be unintentionally edited.[1] The consequences of this can be hard to predict or detect. This is why even though scientists claim that GMOs are safe, it makes sense to be distrustful because researchers may not be able to test for the unintentional changes and these changes could end up being unsafe.

Counter arguments

Modifications happen naturally too it just takes a long time. Domesticated crops have been genetically altered compared to the wild plants that they have been from.[3] By grafting different plants together, people have been creating transgenic plants (plants that contain genetic material from an unrelated organism) for a millennium.[4] Additionally, research has found naturally occurring transgenic plants; some of these plants (such as bananas and peanuts) contain the exact same bacterium (Agrobacterium microbe) that scientists typically use to create GMOs.[4] If these modifications can happen without human intervention, then they cannot be claimed to be unnatural. Modifying organisms in a lab is just speeding up the process. It is the next step in agriculture.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] GMOs have modifications that do not appear naturally. [P2] Genetic engineering can cause unintended changes to the organism's DNA. [P3] These changes are difficult to test for and could be unsafe.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] Genetic modifications happen naturally too.

References

  1. https://www.gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/16658-what-s-a-gmo
  2. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/05/17/organic-101-can-gmos-be-used-organic-products
  3. https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/11/10/should-the-fda-regulate-the-use-of-natural-on-food-products-15/calling-gmos-unnatural-suggests-they-are-unhealthy
  4. https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2019/10/many-plants-naturally-gmo-research-finds/
This page was last edited on Tuesday, 14 Jul 2020 at 01:00 UTC

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