By Hossam Elshendidi

While Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and Organic foods are opposites, one is just a result of the other. When we think of “Organic” we also think “healthy” or “natural” when really it just means that the food was grown the way nature intended, meaning no pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, GMOs, or any radiation were used in the life of the food.

GMOs are confusing because while the term is commonly used, not many know how it works. Basically, GMOs are born by mixing genetic material in a process called recombination which allow for control over features such as size and color. GMO’s are fairly recent as they first went on the market in 1997. However, today it is astounding as so many of our favorites like corn and even salmon, yes fish are included, are genetically modified. Having increased popularity in such a short period of time brings up a lot of questions. Are GMOs safe as a long-term replacement for food? Can these modified foods bring up new diseases and allergies? Has sufficient research been done? The biggest question of all is, is there a way back? For that, the answer is a firm “no.” GMO’s can only spread, and they’re very good at doing it as even birds can transfer this genetically modified material across farms. In more recent time, GMOs are receiving a lot more attention due to increases in awareness and labeling of products. While the excuse of expensive research was used before, new cost effective methods should allow for a significant increase in testing to ensure the consumers are safe. Since all these genetic modifications are profit driven, money is the biggest concern, when in reality, it should be the consumer who is cared for.