Corn, soy, cotton, canola, and zucchini all have one thing in common. The vast majority of these that are grown in the United States are genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. GMOs are plants or animals that have been genetically modified at the molecular level in order to produce a specific effect. Non GMO products are those that have not been genetically altered, and sadly they are becoming harder and harder to find in stores.
Several years ago someone got the idea that if you took the DNA from a plant or animal that had a short coming and spliced it with the DNA of one that was resistant to that short coming you could solve the problem. For instance, say there is a type of plant that gets destroyed by a particular kind of bug. You could take the genes from a plant that is repellent to that type of bug and mix them together. Now the bug no longer destroys that crop. It sounded like a brilliant idea, so companies began to use genetic modification.
In a simpler form, this has been happening since humans first began farming. Farmers would use natural selection and cross breeding to create plants that were heartier and produced more food. This has worked well for many years. So why wouldn't it work just as well to essentially do the same thing, just with better technology on our side?
The problem is that this is not the case. Cross breeding and natural selection are very different than genetic modification. With cross breeding, the breeding is intentional, but it could happen naturally. It is simply two natural species or crops that are mated in order to achieve a specific effect. Genetic modification actually changes the genetic make up, creating a species that never would have occurred naturally. These products have now made their way into our food supply.
The FDA has ruled that there is no significant difference between GMO and foods that have not been genetically modified. Therefore they do not have to be labeled at the stores. The problem with this is that GMOs are fairly new, which means there is little data on the long term effects. Because of this problem many people choose to only buy foods and products that are not genetically modified organisms.
People who have made this decision, however, are finding it very difficult to find foods that are not modified. Some stores and food manufacturers do believe that GMO foods should require labeling. Most health food stores are requiring labels on any food that contains GMOs. Manufacturers that produce foods without GMOs usually clearly label it on the package as well.
The biggest problem that people who choose not to consume products that have been modified genetically encounter is that these products are in virtually everything. Ascorbic acid, citric acid, high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, and yeast products are just a few of the products that are at high risk for GMOs. Finding any food in a regular grocery store that doesn't contain any of these products is difficult.
This causes people who are adamant about only consuming non GMO foods to only be able to shop at health food stores. For some people this is not a problem, but because of the high expense of such selective foods, these stores are usually more expensive. This can be a serious issue for people who are on a tight food budget, which means that these foods are not readily available to everyone.
Several years ago someone got the idea that if you took the DNA from a plant or animal that had a short coming and spliced it with the DNA of one that was resistant to that short coming you could solve the problem. For instance, say there is a type of plant that gets destroyed by a particular kind of bug. You could take the genes from a plant that is repellent to that type of bug and mix them together. Now the bug no longer destroys that crop. It sounded like a brilliant idea, so companies began to use genetic modification.
In a simpler form, this has been happening since humans first began farming. Farmers would use natural selection and cross breeding to create plants that were heartier and produced more food. This has worked well for many years. So why wouldn't it work just as well to essentially do the same thing, just with better technology on our side?
The problem is that this is not the case. Cross breeding and natural selection are very different than genetic modification. With cross breeding, the breeding is intentional, but it could happen naturally. It is simply two natural species or crops that are mated in order to achieve a specific effect. Genetic modification actually changes the genetic make up, creating a species that never would have occurred naturally. These products have now made their way into our food supply.
The FDA has ruled that there is no significant difference between GMO and foods that have not been genetically modified. Therefore they do not have to be labeled at the stores. The problem with this is that GMOs are fairly new, which means there is little data on the long term effects. Because of this problem many people choose to only buy foods and products that are not genetically modified organisms.
People who have made this decision, however, are finding it very difficult to find foods that are not modified. Some stores and food manufacturers do believe that GMO foods should require labeling. Most health food stores are requiring labels on any food that contains GMOs. Manufacturers that produce foods without GMOs usually clearly label it on the package as well.
The biggest problem that people who choose not to consume products that have been modified genetically encounter is that these products are in virtually everything. Ascorbic acid, citric acid, high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, and yeast products are just a few of the products that are at high risk for GMOs. Finding any food in a regular grocery store that doesn't contain any of these products is difficult.
This causes people who are adamant about only consuming non GMO foods to only be able to shop at health food stores. For some people this is not a problem, but because of the high expense of such selective foods, these stores are usually more expensive. This can be a serious issue for people who are on a tight food budget, which means that these foods are not readily available to everyone.
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