Infographic Template Galleries

Created with Fabric.js 1.4.5 GMOs - Helping the Hungry, Polluting the Planet GMOs have long been a pointof contention. What's the truth?Are they beneficial or harmful?What's left, or what's right? In their current state,GMOs are actually HARMFUL. This is mostly due to the fact that technologically, we simplyaren't advanced enough to know what exactly we'rechanging, and what the impli-cations of these changes are. But what about all thebenefits they provide?They can help us feedthe poor, clean the air,and even make food tastier! YES! GMOs can help humanityaccomplish things only heardof in science fiction, it's true. However, they simply don't hold up under scrutiny withour current technology andunderstanding of how genesand gene splicing works. But the United Statesallows them nearlywhole-heartedly! -Around 70% of our food hassome kind of GMO in it.- We've been geneticallychanging organisms for 20 years.- A study in India showedfarmers growing GMOcrops yielded 24% more, and gained 50% more profit.- A strand of rice has been engineered to produce vitaminA, enough so that only 3 cupsof the rice provides the entireday's worth. (1) While true, many European nationsincluding: Italy, Austria, France,Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal,Greece, Spain, and the UK havesome sort of restriction on GMOs. (2) - GM plants have been shown to introduce new pollens and allergens,as well as take over the ecosystemthey are introduced in - an environmentalhazard.- GMOs can have unexpected genetic changes that can be harmful.- GMOs can create super-pests andweeds.-These plants can be poisonous to othercreatures, causing even more harm toecosystems.- These organisms can be PATENTED,so even if they naturally spread, they are still someone's property. (3,4,5,6) These facts don't include some specific cases of GM crops. For example, one caused a 400%increase in cancer rates.Some modifications canmake a food have adifferent allergen. A corn plant with peanut genes couldtrigger peanut allergies.We simply can't controlthem from a safety pointof view yet. Okay, maybe theyaren't so safe. But thenwhy is research still happening? And why thecontention? Simple: because humansare extraordinarilyambitious (note: notamphibious). Research is still beingconducted because theyhave every potentialto change not only lives,but the entire human race.Ethical and political issuesaside (many consider thisto be "playing God"), theidea of making a bacteriathat synthesizes fossilfuels is something nonecan deny would be helpful. GMOs are a major point of contention due to politicaland ethical issues runningrampant, while the sciencebehind the issues is often ignored for "the bigger picture". Until we can solvethe health and environmentalconcerns, along with discoveringhow to be certain there are nounexpected effects and adapta-tions the organisms affect, thepoint is moot - they simply can't be trusted yet.
Create Your Free Infographic!