GMO’s stand for genetically modified organisms, which according to http://enhs.umn.edu, defined as a broad group of plants, animals, and bacteria that are engineered for a wide variety of applications ranging from agricultural production to scientific research. GMO’s are seen everywhere now a days, and pose many significant health risks and hazards to the beings consuming them. The main problem around GMO’s are that they are often found in human food. According to the FDA website, the only food approved that contain GMO’s are plants. While every food that has been genetically modified is technically approved by the government, they are not considered safe or regulated by the FDA. The effects of consuming GMO’s range from bad nutrition, toxicity, allergens, and antibiotic resistance.
- Allergens to food from GMO’s
5% of kids and 2% adults in America suffer from food allergies. Food allergies are extremely dangerous if a person consumers the food they are allergic to and this problem is a considered a health threat. According to webmd.com definition of an allergic reaction is “An overreaction of the body’s natural defense system that helps fight infections (immune system). The immune system normally protects the body from viruses and bacteria by producing antibodies to fight them. In an allergic reaction, the immune system starts fighting substances that are usually harmless (such as dust mites, pollen, or a medicine) as though these substances were trying to attack the body. ” In genetically modified foods, the main protein that causes allergic reactions could cause an immune response in humans. It is not known if any allergic reactions have resulted from GMO’s, but it certainly a concern, causing certain companies to stop producing these genetically modified organisms. Anything could be caused by a third variable, such as an unknown allergen by the consumer or a bad reaction to something in the environment around the consumer. While this is true, there is a correlation between food allergens and GMO’s.
- Toxicity Rising
While most plants are considered to toxic to humans, it is rare that enough of these toxins are consumed to show any signs of a reaction. When GMO’s are put into food, humans end up consuming higher levels of the toxins from those plants. Many things could result from this. A metabolic pathway is defined as “a series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell. In a 
pathway, the initial chemical (metabolite) is modified by a sequence of chemical reactions. These reactions are catalyzed by enzymes, where the product of one enzyme acts as the substrate for the next.” This process could be disrupted by GMO’s, which would cause plant’s to make more toxins due to stress, which is extremely dangerous for human beings consuming this food.
- Lack of Nutrition and Antibiotic Resistance
Because certain GMO’s aren’t digestible for people, it is very possible that they could take away the nutritional value of many of the foods consumed by humans. Not only that, but it adds to the increasing epidemic with antibiotic resistance in the world. Throughout the last few years, antibiotics are no longer about to kill a lot of bacteria. This may not sound like a big deal, but it could mean that something as simple as strep throat could not be cured. The process of antibiotic resistance occurs by natural mutation. To test this theory, scientists have used these genes and injected them into plants. If the plant does not die from this injection, the plant is considered to be antibiotic resistant. This is scary, considering humans and the animals humans eat will possibility consume this plant, increasing their level of antibiotic resistance. We don’t exactly know what the risk of this is yet. Unfortunately, scientists have yet to watch bacteria with antibiotic resistance in labs yet. The FDA has made several statements issuing this as a huge problem and “encourages biotechnologists to phase out the practice of using antibiotic resistance genes.”
- Ignored by the government
As I stated before, the government has not paid much attention to this problems and the safety regulations that are necessary when it comes to GMO’s. The FDA doesn’t require that labels include whether or not there are GMO’s in foods and most companies prefer not to market them. In my opinion, if a company wants to hide the fact that they are using genetically modified foods in their produces, that is enough to say it most likely is not the healthiest thing for humans. The government claims that they “do not have information showing genetically 
modified foods were substantially different,” according to http://responsibletechnology.org/. Although they claim this, the FDA was made aware by scientists that the health effects of GMO’s were complicated and very hard to predict. Secret memos actually filed a lawsuit to stress how strongly the scientists felt about the fact that GMO’s should not be used. As GMO’s are a fairly new concept, they long term effects of them are unknown, but are hopefully going to be studied over time. In class, we talked about how smoking caused lung cancer, but was not proven for a long time due to the numerous third variables. It is very possible that genetically modified food while cause the same sort of epidemic around the world. Unfortunately, only time can tell the real effects of GMO’s. Sadly, the man in charge of the FDA at the White house, Michael Taylor, instructed for the FDA to continue with creating genetically modified foods.
As the use of genetically modified foods increases throughout the world, it will cause more and more problems. The lack of attention this problem receives by the government is rather alarming. Antibiotic resistance, allergens, and toxicity levels in the body are only a few dangerous effects from GMO’s. Only 5% of shoppers are non-GMO focused consumers. With the proper attention, the world could be a safer and healthier place for consumers.