Health & Genetically Modified Food

For years our soil has provided us with a source of fuel for our bodies. Our plants grow from the nutrients in the soil; a lot of our soil has been over cropped and lacks the nutrients it had in the past. With the population growth over the years scientists have found a way to grow crops faster. The crops have also been modified genetically to be resistant to pests; the scientists who designed them claim that the plants are resistant to insects, thus there is no need to use pesticides. The insect resistance prevents a large amount of chemicals from being used on our food. Current research has shown that cultivation of GMO herbicide resistant crops has led to an increase in the amount of herbicide being used. Genetically modifying the plants that grow our food causes more problems than it fixes, if the plants become resistant to pests, than the pests become resistant to the plants countermeasures, thus causing farmers to be forced to use more harsh pesticides to kill the pests and keep the crops safe. Several of our agriculture crops have been genetically modified. The varieties of crops that have been modified include soy and corn, two major farmed crops in the U.S. The main issue is that corn is the primary feed for our ranches. See link below for a list of genetically modified foods by country.

There is some evidence that physicians are concerned about in relation to GMO’s, and an increase in food allergies, some of these proteins have never been consumed by humans so the body could react with an immune response that could in turn be an allergy. There is also concern about a decrease in nutritional value. Another example comes from a study showing that a strain of genetically modified soybean produced lower levels of phytoestrogen compounds, believed to protect against heart disease and cancer, than traditional soybeans (Bakshi, 2003).
Physicians have seen an alarming, and increased rate bacteria being resistant to antibiotics. The genetically modified plants are being modified with antibiotic resistant genes, so this might be being passed to humans and causing the resistance to some strains of antibiotics. The FDA would like the biotechnologist to start to phase out the use of the antibiotic strains.
There can be an increase in toxins with cross breeding of plants as well. Another concern is GMO’s and the environmental transfer of genes that are modified to another plant. Could insect resistant GMO’s also cause harm to the monarch butterfly, the monarch population is on the decline and genetically modified foods are one of the factors.

In conclusion to date we are in a wait and see pattern in regards to GMO’s , it is too soon for all of the evidence to be calculated in regards to our agriculture, our health or insects like the monarch butterfly and other animals in general. At this point scientists really can’t say, for me I would rather avoid this type of food, and find out to late. For those of us with food allergies it's best to avoid all genetically modified food.

https://www.ewg.org/agmag/2016/03/gmo-linked-herbicide-may-doom-monarch-butterflies#.Wtn-AojwYdU

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_genetically_modified_crops#Genetically_modified_crops_by_country

http://www.foodallergens.info/Facts/GMO.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Genetically-Modified-Foods

http://www.nongmoproject.org