Sunday, 13 October 2013

The Various Benefits And Disadvantages Of Non GMO

By Megan Landry


GMO stands for genetically modified organism. Non GMO on the other hand are those that are natural or organic. During the course of genetic modification, there is removal of one or more genes from the DNA of other organisms like bacteria or viruses. The removed genes are then recombined into the DNA of the plant in which alteration is to be done.

Through such addition of new genes, the engineers look to have them exhibit traits associated with such genes. There has been debate on the safety of GMO, which is why many countries have always called for sale of organic foods rather than those that are modified. In the case that GMOs are on sale, they have to be labeled so that buyers are aware of what they are buying.

Perhaps the biggest concern for people that use organic foods is their costs. On a comparative basis, they are more expensive, something that may be linked to the fact that their production costs are also high. They also tend to take much longer in the farm as compared to those that are genetically modified. Further, they have no preservatives and tend to spoil faster.

There are numerous advantages of non genetically modified foods. Unlike the others, they have few chemicals if any. Those that are genetically modified are produced using sewage sludge plus a host of other chemicals. These, in addition to hormones used in animal stimulation for better productivity, pose a huge risk. Some amount of the chemicals remain on such produce.

Pesticides used are likely to leave residues on the products from such animals, something that may have a long term effect on consumers. Further, there may be leakage of hormones and antibiotics into produce, posing more risks. Farmers that use organic methods do not use chemical means for production, thus there is unlikely to be as much residue.

With the importance attached to the environment, there is need to protect it against any damages and pollution. That is one of the biggest reasons why the use of non GMO is preferred- it conserves the environment a great deal. There is no much use of chemicals.

Organic foods also have a few shortcomings. For once, it is quite a challenge maintaining an organic kitchen. This is because over time, there has been an increase in production and acceptance of genetically modified ones. This, coupled with the fact that they are much cheaper, makes the process of using purely organic foods tedious.

Most companies are getting to production of non GMOs. This has come to the disadvantage of small producers. The process of getting certification to produce organic foods is not only long but also complicated. Small farmers cannot easily afford costs involved. Thus with time and the requirement that business people label their foods, there are those that are bound to lose.

It has not been determined whether non GMO is more nutritious than GMO. In fact, the two classes of foods are more or less the same in terms of nutritional value. There is still more research on the subject.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment