Today is my second day of exploring GMO and world hunger, as part of
Conducive Chronicle’s
21 days for Hunger. GMO food has been used as a solution for world hunger, but I will discuss some of the problems of this approach.
When the DNA of a plant or organism has been changed, it has become genetically modified organism, or a GMO. Small or even tiny changes in a plant's genetic structure can have a significant impact on its properties. That may not seem like a big deal for plants, or even animals, but when it comes to humans, the stakes get a little higher. Just the slightest change in our DNA can have can have disastrous effects and
chromosomal anomalies like Down Syndrome or Fragile X Syndrome.
The most common foods GMO foods consumed in North America are corn, soy, canola, and cottonseed oil. So what does it mean to us if we eat genetically modified food? What does the altered DNA of a plant or animal do to our own DNA? What are the long-term effects?