Genetically modified organisms are plants and animals into which biotech scientists inject genes to create organisms that cannot exist in nature. GMOs were first introduced into the United States in 1996, and today the majority of food sold in the United States is made up of GMOs. The main reason why people around the world accepted GMO food was to end world hunger, especially to help Third World countries, as the world's population is increasing. GMOs are known to benefit both farmers and consumers. Farmers benefit greatly from GMO crops, as more money comes from more crops. GMOs are also said to be beneficial to consumers, as they contain added nutrients and vaccines to aid consumers' health. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayIt has been 20 years since GMOs were introduced in the United States. During these years many things have changed and GMOs have become part of people's daily lives. The way GMO crops are created has also changed over time. Biotech scientists have created new ways to make plants grow faster and tastier. To do this, scientists have created herbicides that make these crops resistant to chemicals. Biotech scientists have also created new ways to insert DNA into plants and animals, which can introduce new traits that scientists can selectively breed for. All these changes in the production of GMOs have also had repercussions on agriculture, living organisms and have spread pollution. Biodiversity is negatively affected by harmful pollution of the environment. After decades of research on GMO crops, countries around the world have banned or started labeling GMO foods, because many people believe that GMOs are the cause of many diseases, such as cancer. The American government should start labeling GMO products so that Americans can lead a good and healthy lifestyle. For one thing, GMOs were created to benefit consumers. As the world's population is increasing, this can lead to world hunger. In his article “Recommendations from a meeting on the health implications of GMOs,” George Amofah states: “The United Nations predicts that the world's population will increase by 25% to 7.5 billion by 2020.” The introduction of GMOs allows countries to prevent food shortages with mass food production. GMOs were developed with the addition of a certain amount of nutrients to benefit people's health and also to prevent diseases. In “The Benefits You Get from GMOs,” Janet Renee says, “Biotech companies are developing crops that contain higher vitamins and minerals, as well as higher antioxidant content that can be used to help prevent chronic disease.” Another great factor known to benefit people is vaccines. In “Health Risks and Environmental Issues,” the author states, “GMOs can improve health in developing countries by providing drugs and vaccines by placing them in fruits and vegetables such as banana and potato crops.” Although GMOs have some advantages, placing them on the market without any research not only puts the health of consumers at risk, but also has negative effects on animals and the environment. Although many debate the health implications of GMOs, sources have proven that GMOs are indeed putting you at riskconsumer health. The film Seeds of Death is about sheep research where sheep were allowed to graze on BT cotton plants after harvest. Subsequently, one in four sheep died within five to seven days, with an estimated 10,000 dead sheep. Many cases like this have occurred around the world, causing ever-increasing risks, not only to humans and animals, but also to the environment. In “The Dangers of GMOs,” the author talks about how the rate of allergies has skyrocketed since they were first discovered. “There is cross-reactivity between soy and peanut allergies, so it may not have been a coincidence that peanut allergies doubled in the United States between 1997 and 2002, five years after the introduction of GMOs.” (Smith). Although it is not yet proven, many believe that GMOs cause cancer. In Seeds of Death, a researcher conducted research on rats fed genetically modified corn for 90 days, which resulted in tumors in the rats, their immune systems being broken, and many other health risks, including precancerous tumors. GMOs not only affect humans and animals, but also agriculture, as more and more chemicals are introduced into the environment. GMO production has had a large effect on agriculture, as companies increasingly use chemicals on crops. To remove toxins from food, biotech scientists have introduced pesticidal chemicals. Big companies like Monsanto have created their own way of eliminating toxins by creating “harvest-ready” crops that can resist herbicides. According to the article “Health Risks and Environmental Issues: GMO Debate Heats Up,” “farmers planting RP soybeans use two to five times more herbicides than farmers using the integrated weed control method” ( Williams). This means that more and more toxic chemicals are introduced into the soil, air and even water, increasing pollution of the environment. As more and more Roundup Ready crops are planted, pesticide use is increasing, leading to the creation of superweeds. Roundup Ready crops use chemicals like glyphosate, which creates superweeds. Farmers spray a lot of pesticides on the crops, the weeds die and the crops begin to thrive. In “Soil biodiversity: functions, threats and tools for policy makers”, the author states: Genetic modifications are used to improve quality and productivity. Existing molecular techniques involve inserting and integrating a short segment of DNA from another organism into the plant's genome to add individual characteristics to the plant's lineage and variety. (Nuria)GMO crops are the source of pollution of soil organisms because they can have an indirect impact on soil biodiversity.Modern agriculture largely depends on the use of chemicals to control weeds, pests and even mushrooms. Many living organisms are affected by these chemicals, for example bees. Bees are often exposed to chemicals that poison them. In “A Historical Review of the United States and the Factors That May Affect It,” the author states: “As substances used have changed, damage from acute toxicity is not the only threat to bees. Instead, subordinate or behavioral changes, whether resulting from short-term or long-term exposure, became increasingly evident” (VanEngelsdorp). The chemicals sprayed on these plants are killing insects and animals. Another example is butterflies. Corn is sprayed with pesticides, whichthey are killing many butterflies all over the world. In the article “The Butterfly Effect,” the author states, “20% of monarch caterpillars died after eating BT corn” (Stix). Biotech scientists have created a hormone called recombinant bovine somatotropin hormone (rBST) that they inject into cows to increase milk production. In “I Got Milk Without Hormones: Your State May Care Enough to Let You Know,” the author states that “rBST is sold in America under the name Posilac, this hormone is estimated to increase milk production by a cow between seventeen and forty percent." per day” (Thornley). The use of this hormone is known to increase pus production and leads to a shorter lifespan and an increase in diseases such as mastitis in cows. Many believe that consuming milk from cows injected with rBST has an effect on human health. Humans are also greatly affected by GMO crops, as they put many health factors at risk, even diseases such as cancer. Biotechnology scientists have also engineered animals such as fish to grow twice as large, faster and wider. These fish are not only unhealthy: if they were released into the ocean, the entire fish community would be at risk of extinction. Amphibians are also exposed to pesticides. In the article “Anuran amphibians as indicators of changes in the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystemFollowing the cultivation of GM crops: guidelines for monitoring,” the author states, “Frogs and toads can be contaminated, for example, terrestrial amphibians in migration can be sprayed excessively and can obtain plant material" (Boll). Contamination in animals and plants has spread. In “The dangers of GMOs” the author gives an example of contamination: “The contamination of papaya comes from two sources. First there is cross-pollination of trees by the wind carrying the seeds, and secondly because people who eat papaya simply throw away the seeds” (Smith). different by manipulating human and animal DNA. Scientists are creating species of fish and sheep. In 1996, scientists cloned a sheep called “Dolly” from a somatic cell and DNA of an adult sheep, who died in 2003. Cloning animals can put many in danger, as some species are less domesticated than their predecessors. In “Control Through Contamination,” the author states that genetically modified crops can be classified as “living pollution” because they can reproduce. Once a genetically modified crop exists in the environment, its pollen – containing unique combinations of genetic traits whose long-term effects have not been studied – can be transmitted, causing contamination of other plants of the same species. This is something that humanity cannot control, and in the future it could lead to the mass extinction of animals or even humans. All over the world, people are being offered GMOs, without knowing whether the food they are consuming is safe. America should take the next step to start labeling GMO products for people's safety, despite the costs. While many debate the cost of labeling GMO products, this will give consumers the confidence to know what they are going into their mouths, whether it is GMO or not. Today, many consumers are unaware that many processed foods contain GMOs. Many argue that adding labels will increase costs. When people learn about GMO products, they will pay more attention to what they buy, which may lead to companies having to change their 37.