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The Pros And Cons Of GMO

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The majority of opposition comes from social advocacy groups such as the Institute for Responsible Technology, led by Jeffrey Smith. The opposition usually couples their self-determined negatives of GMOs along with the need to label genetically modified food products. The main claim of most opposition groups is that GMOs are terrible for a variety of reasons and should be forced to be labeled so that consumers know what they are buying and feeding their families. A popular supporting reason of such a main claim that social activists use is that GMOs are unhealthy and lead to organ damage, immune system disorders, and infertility among other dangers. (Institute for Responsible Technology) Smith makes the argument that large agencies such as The American Academy of Environmental Medicine urge “doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets for all patients.” Smith also states that health problems increase with GMO usage: “the percentage of Americans with three or more chronic illnesses jumped from 7% to 13% in just 9 years” and that transgenes in GM foods can transfer into our own DNA. Toxic transgene insecticides found in GM corn were also “found in the blood of pregnant women and their unborn fetuses.” (The Institute for Responsible Technology) Another reason Smith gives for the danger of GMOs is that they increase the use of harmful herbicides. GMO plants are designed to be “herbicide tolerant” so that they can be used in conjunction with deadly herbicides. “Between 1996 and 2008, US

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