The genetically- modified suicide

Did I catch your attention?

Well, apparently according to the surveys, genetically modified foods are consumed everyday. The way it was phrased "GENETICALLY MODIFIED" aka GM does not alarm us, but it might just raise a few eyebrows among the you's.

What is genetically modified food?
Taken from wikipedia: Genetically modified (GM) foods are food items that have had their DNA through genetic engineering. In plain words, a gene or two are added into plants to enhance their chances of surviving etc, e.g. SOYA BEAN could prevent heart disease (Telegraph). If nothing is being introduced to stop GM food, this (below) is going to happen.
Picture courtesy of keropok.com

Benefits (from csa.com):
1. Pest and Herbicide resistance, Temperature, PH, drought, etc- tolerant. The bad weeds die + the crops stay alive = Super Crops
2. Nutrition. Normal crops such as rice are inserted with extra vitamins and all the goodness, therefore provides an all-in-one solution in developing countries.
Imagine replacing all the nutrients above with rice and only rice.
3. Easier to produce medicine. Scientists can grow GM crops to extract medicines.


This is why you should be concerned:
1. Harm to other organisms. Pollen from B.t. corn could be involved in the "mass-killing" of monarch butterfly caterpillars.

2. Producing superweeds. Genes from GM could interbreed with normal weeds causing immunity to "everything", thus, superweeds. Watch the Happening for a full blown exaggeration of the picture.

3. Does not benefit farmers. The suicide gene has been introduced in some crops, therefore farmers will have to buy seeds all the time from the big companies. Other examples, when Golden cotton (resistant to bollworms) are grown all at once, it reduces biodiversity in the farms and resulting in less space for personal food cultivation. As a result, big companies dominate farmers by increasing the prices of seeds etc every year.

4. Unknown effects to human health. Everything might be alright or you might end up having intestinal problems like the rats which were tested, which also happen to cancel out Benefits 2 and 3 above.

Does it feel like something is very wrong? For more people on my side, read/listen to what Prince Charles said, who has been called off for not providing substantial evidences to his claim.

Unfortunately, I happen to conclude the same: "A gigantic experiment I think with nature and the whole of humanity which has gone seriously wrong."

PS: I wanted to provide some names of companies that are using GM food extensively in derivatives etc but I need more statistics. Help me if you can!