12 Reasons To Ban Genetically Engineered Food

12 Reasons To Ban

Genetically Engineered Food

Many countries across the world are wary of genetically engineered food. Some are succumbing to the enormous pressure of the American government and biotechnology companies and allowing field trials of such crops within their borders. The American Campaign to Ban Genetically Engineered Foods has proven a need to ban GM foods worldwide. 

Generations of Effects - 

Environmental and health effects caused by genetic engineering will be felt for many generations. Gene pollution can never be fixed, and newly created bacteria, viruses, and plants will be released into the ecosystem and will reproduce, migrate, and mutate. These organisms can never be recalled, and the effects on the environment are irreversible.

Habitat and Ecosystem Damage - 

Nature has millions of years of experience, and our ecosystems thrive only within a strict balance of forces. Genetically engineered species upset the delicate balance in our ecosystem in ways that are unnatural. Genetically engineered species are new species and will create additional new species as they reproduce and change. The effects are dangerous and unpredictable.

Pollution - Most genetically engineered plants are created to enable them to tolerate high amounts of herbicides. It has been estimated that this will almost triple the amount of herbicides used on crops, which will result in a greater amount of herbicides in our food, water, soil, and eventually our bodies.

Unsafe Foods - GM foods do not have a very good track record. Tryptophan, a food supplement that was engineered I in 1989 from bacteria, produced toxic contaminants, killing 37 people, disabling 1500, and making 5000 more very ill. 

Allergies - New and unidentified proteins may be transferred from one food to another due to genetic engineering, triggering allergic reactions. Allergic reactions can lead to anaphylactic shock, which is life-threatening.

Changing Food - Genetic material added to foods can combine in ways that are unpredictable, and this can permanently change the nature of our food. No one knows if the altering that is done by genetic engineering is safe. While scientists tamper with nature, they can create changes in the genetic makeup of plants, and we are the guinea pigs.

Toxins - Higher levels of toxins as well as new toxins may be present in GE food. Combining plants and animal species can create new toxins or higher levels of existing toxins. For example, corn and potatoes engineered to produce toxins that kill insects are now classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as pesticides, not vegetables!

Antibiotics -  Antibiotic resistance genes in GE food may decrease the effectiveness of antibiotics in humans and animals. Almost every GE organism has antibiotic-resistance genes incorporated into them, and scientists expect these genes and their enzymes (which inactivate antibiotics) to be present in engineered food.

Sick Animals - Genetic engineering of animals often leads to sick and suffering creatures. Human growth hormone was spliced into pigs, resulting in crippled and blind animals with reduced immune systems. Cows who get rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) have lower lifespans and an increased risk of disease (most dairy cows, unless organic, are injected with this chemical).

Gene Deletion - Genetic engineering sometimes involves the removal or inactivation of genes. The long-term effects of this is unknown. All parts of the body work together, so removing one gene can affect the entire organism.

Counterfeit Freshness - We will not be able to accurately judge the quality of the produce we buy when it is engineered to contain "fresh" characteristics, such as color and firmness. We could be eating old tomatoes thinking they are fresh.

Ethical/Religious Concerns - Adding animal or human genes into plants raises serious issues for many religious groups, vegetarians, and animal rights activists. For example, a religious coalition composed of Protestant, Methodist, Evangelical Christian, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist leaders petitioned the US Patent and Trademark Office opposing "the patenting of human and animal life form", calling it blasphemous to "claim that someone else other than God created life". Creating a new form of life is exactly what genetic engineering is doing, and they are mixing animal, plant, bacteria, virus, and human parts to do it.