I would like to know why so many people are afraid of GMO crops that could be raised in the US.?

Question

Crops raised in the US are very safe to eat. Imported food does not meet the same chemical use guidelines and food saftey reqirements that the US farmer has to meet. GMO'S would make US food even safer by cutting back even more on chemical use. Not every crop should be a GMO crop, but select crops could make US food even cheaper.

Answer 1

GM- genetically modified

these plants have their genes altered and there are many possible mutations that can occur. also, not much research has been done on the long term effects GM food has on our body. Why do you think Zimbabwe and Angola rejected our maize offer? because they felt that they were the guniea pigs. anyway, if you look at how a gene is inserted into a plant using the recombinant DNA method, it is actually very dangerous and unstable. Scientists are making use of bacteria' plasmids to act as a truck to insert the gene. Although viral causing genes are removed, what makes scientists so sure that they wouldn't remain, mutate and form a super bug?

Also, there are religious ethics violated, e.g. some people believe we shouldn't play God and Muslims, they cannot eat pork. What if the pork gene was inserted into maize? and they eat the maize??? also, some people might be allergic to peanuts, if the peanut gene were to be inserted into a crop, and starts expressing itself, would the person die?

Answer 2

I'm severly allergic to celery (a plant that is almost entirely made of water) and though i haven't studied enough genetics to know for certain, i've been told by people of authority that many GMO's can induce severe allergic reactions in some people.

Answer 3

GMO crops are considered by many to be unnatural (i.e., "frankenfood"), and therefore they deem that eating them are harmful to the human body.

I do not claim this to be correct or incorrect; I would need to look further into the controversy before I form an opinion aye or nay on the matter.