Genetically Modified Foods Should Be Promoted Essay

Thank you members of the FDA for letting me speak today regarding the morality of genetically modified foods. Different bioengineering, better known as genetically modified, methods have been prevalent in modern society for almost half a century. It has allowed scientists to transfer genes that would have never been able to interbreed in nature but with the help from scientists, can breed as naturally (Harvard Law). The technology that describes this is known as biotechnology. When somebody is asked what are they afraid of, a common response might be, â€Å"I’m deathly afraid of spiders† or â€Å"I’m afraid of heights. I can’t look off the edge†. The response that is never heard is the unknown and I believe that â€Å"the unknown† is something that many people are afraid of. The unknown is simply a scary thing because it is impossible to tell the future. People say that cell phones may cause cancer, but in reality, this will not be known for decades and people surely will not stop talking on them. GMF’s scare people because they don’t know what the future holds. The future holds an agricultural revolution that could never have been predicted and will open many doors that were thought to not have existed. The United States federal government should promote the purchasing of genetically modified foods by the public that can be done by educating the public with the benefits of genetically modified foods In a poll done by ABC regarding the skepticism of genetically modified foods, 52% of people believed them to be dangerous and 13% were unsure about them (Poll). The public should not be so confused regarding the safety of the food that they eat on a daily basis. The majority of all cultivated food has been genetically modified in some way by the time of its production (Harvard Law). This means that the public eats genetically modified food every single day without knowing it. If the public was to be better informed about GM foods then they would support them. The public really does not know so much about the technology surrounding bioengineered food. Biotechnology can be defined as the genetic manipulation of organisms for a common goal, in this case, food. Genetic engineers have successfully been able to introduce methods to be able to combine genes of species by selecting certain genetic material from each organism. This results in a new organism that contains traits of both preceding organism (Harvard Law). A solution to the unawareness of the United States’ public would be to advertise the benefits of genetically modified food. If the public were more educated on the topic of genetically modified foods they would support it because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The government needs to introduce a series of advertisements regarding GM foods. Every man and woman in this country has the ability to vote for who they want, say what they want, write what they want. Although not written in the constitution, all people are also given the right to eat what they want. Whether cheap, expensive, healthy, or unhealthy, we are all given the choice to make those decisions for ourselves. In a poll done by ABC news asking if people would be more inclined to buy genetically modified food, 57% said they’d be more likely to purchase untouched food (Poll). If the federal government were able to make the public more aware of the advantages of genetically modified foods people would be more inclined to buy them and support the industry. As of now, the public chooses non-GM foods over GM foods. They need to be introduced to the positive aspects of bioengineering. If the federal government wants to revolutionize the agricultural industry, consumers need to be in favor of GM foods. If more than half of the consumers said they’d be less likely to purchase GM foods then how can food companies put GM foods on the shelves of super markets knowing that not enough will be sold? Little does the public know, but about 60-70% of processed foods do contain genetically modified ingredients (Web MD). The FDA states that there is no new safety concerns introduced into the food (Harvard Law). The FDA’s purpose is to deem food safe or dangerous and whether or not the public should be eating it. The FDA constantly argues that there are no safety risks when eating GM Foods. The public needs to trust them on this topic just like they do with all other foods. As previously stated, most people are scared of the unknown, and in order to make this industry a well working one, consumers need to be in favor of genetically modified food. Genetically modified food is safe. People are eating GM food at every meal and there have been no outbreaks of any diseases related to the introduction of GM food. Genetically modified food is the future. In developed countries, crop yield was increased by 6% and in undeveloped countries; crop yield was increased by 29% (Wikipedia). A very well known example of a genetically modified food is golden rice. It was introduced to the world as a solution to the extremity of morbidity from lack of vitamin A, iodine, iron, and zinc. The lack of these fundamental dietary components is the root cause of disease worldwide. Golden rice offers a solution that contains these lacking components. Many things can be made possible in the future with an increase in support for genetically modified food. If scientists were able to create a gene that could be put into all cultivated crops that would allow them to grow throughout the winter, they could end world hunger. World hunger being solved would mean one of the utmost impossible puzzles has been solved. The two things that most people would likely to fix in this world are world peace and an end to hunger worldwide. No this government can’t solve world peace. Yes this government and others do produce enough food to feed the every human on this planet. However, if enough cheaply grown crops were produced throughout the whole year, governments will be more inclined to try to feed the world. With climate change being a really evident effect from global warming, it is nearly impossible to predict what Mother Nature holds in store for mankind. With the technology available, the United States’ government must issue out more patents for scientists to increase and continue the research surrounding GM foods to make them the food of this world. The government should and would only issue out more patents to scientists if the United States’ consumers would buy GM food and support the industry. This is the sole reason that this federal government needs to make aware the public, of the advantages from GM foods.