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The natural-foods craze has spurred a chorus of anti-GMO sentiment. Much of the hate exists because the companies that profit off genetically modified food have a chokehold on the 53 percent of farmland planted, according to Mother Jones.
But there’s a problem with how our distaste for corporate greed taints our perception of a potentially life-saving science, and the American populace needs to look beyond this to see the bigger picture. Put simply, genetically modified food is the future. Moreover, we’ve been eating genetically altered food for decades without even realizing it.
Why are so many people opposed?
There are certainly some bizarre experiments using gene modification, like glow-in-the-dark cats which go viral due to their outlandishness and paint GMO researchers as mad scientists. And some biotech companies, like Monsanto, give the science a bad name.
If you’ve heard of Monsanto, the biotech company behind the herbicides Roundup and Agent Orange, you’ve heard why people are against them. It’s understandable why people wouldn’t want an organization like this in charge of our food.
But a 2014 study found that GM technology reduced pesticide use by 37 percent, brought up crop yields by 22 percent and increased farmer profits by 68 percent. The highest results were shown in developing countries, opening the door for starved countries to produce crops amid less-than-ideal conditions.
The problem with our current GMO climate is that the only companies that can afford to make progress are corporations like Monsanto.
But letting disdain for a promising science turn into unanimous GMO disapproval is a problem. It means that smaller companies and independent labs, the ones making the planet better, can’t get a foot in the door. Because when you scare away the people who could do some good, the only people left will be the ones who don’t care what you think.
Read full, original post: The Surprising Reason Why Young People Should Support GMOs
