Fruit Blog Entry #2

Genetically Modified Foods 

So…Questions to address:

1. What do you think about GM-foods?

(All opinions welcome!!)

2. Do you think GM foods should be labeled? 

Date: December 3rd, 2012

Why would you want to genetically modify a fruit or vegetable?

We modify fruits and vegetables to make them superior than the original ones. Also, we modify them for convenience to fit our needs. For example, in the past a bag of rice would spoil sooner than the rice we have nowadays. This is because the present rice is genetically modified. It is more resistance to the environment than the rice from the past. Leading it to last several weeks longer than the rice we had before. Also, we modify fruits and vegetables for aesthetics reasons. When people go to the fruit market or supermarket, they always go for the fruits or vegetables that look very colorful and pretty because people assume that those vegetables and fruits are the best. The others that look opaque are left on the counters to perish because they don’t look good. Also, we do genetically modify crops to feed large amount of people with the goal to control hunger.

1. What do you think about GM-foods?

GM-foods offer us a greater quality because they are selected from the best traits from the true to types. Plant breeders select them based on the best genotypes and phenotypes available after they test them. Eating GM-foods should not be avoided after all we are not eating harmful chemicals present in our foods. We are just eating products with different genetics traits, which could have happen in our environment by accident anyways. We are just accelerating the process of nature. Instead of waiting for nature to select the best traits to that the surrounding can offer, we do it ourselves while in the process selecting the best genes that adjust to our needs. In brief, we are not eating anything harmful with GM-foods, but instead we are consuming crops that possess the best out of the best.    

2. Do you think GM foods should be labeled? 

Yes, they should be labeled. By labeling them, they show to the public the truth. In case in the future there are harmful discoveries towards some GM products, which is unlikely to happen in my opinion, people know what they have been consuming. Also, there are people who don’t want to consume GM-foods, so by labeling them, those people get the freedom that they deserve to choose whether or not the food they eat is GM-foods. Also, labeling GM-foods should create more jobs which I see as a positive thing in our society.