THE GMO DEBATE

Joseph Mercola wrote an article titled "Genetically Modified Foods Are Not Safe to Eat." Mercola believes that problems may arise in the future from the use of horizontal gene transfer, which is when a gene is injected from one species into a completely different species. This has the potential to lead to unexpected and unpredictable results. Mercola also believes that many of people's beliefs about the use of GMOs arent just untrue, they are wildly overblown. He feels that "most of the scientific evidence regarding safety and increased yield potential do not at all support the claims" (par. 14).These GM foods are also believed to be less nutritious than non-GM foods. They also pose distinct health risks, are poorly regulated, and may cause harm to the environment and farmers. In regards to the poor regulation The Bt corn and soya plants  in our environment are registered as insecticides. But these insecticidal plants aren't regulated and their proteins haven't been tested for safety by the federal departments in charge of food safety in Canada and the U.S. For safety, the longest industry-funded animal feeding study was 90 days. Recent research has confirmed that 90 days is far too short. Mercola supports this by expressing that "in the world's first independently funded lifetime feeding study, massive health problems set in during and after the 13th month, including organ damage and cancer" (par. 22). This shows how the 90 day studies are too short to be credible. These are some of Mercola's various reasons why genetically modified organisms should not be used.