In the last two years, much needed attention has been drawn to where our food comes from. This is a question we should always know the answer to, but the convenience of our modern age in America has made the majority of us unconcerned with the answer. If we want something, we just stop at the local store and get it.
Two years ago that changed when people asked themselves, many for the first time, “What if the grocery store doesn’t have it?”
And though that it is a very serious question in itself, it goes far beyond whether or not the truck arrived at the store on time. Let’s take it all the way back to how a lot of our food supply is being grown now. Let’s discuss GMO crops.
GMO crops are genetically modified. This can be seen in many different ways in the actual crop. It may grow faster, grow bigger, continue growing with the use of herbicides, not need to be pollinated, be a different color or texture, or maybe it’s seedless. How many of us growing up had a seedless watermelon from the grocery store? So convenient right?
What does this all mean for the population though? How does the farming of GMO crops directly affect the individual? First let’s talk about the herbicides and pesticides.
A lot of GMO crops are being modified to withstand the use of herbicides like Round Up. This kills off any ‘weeds’ that may be present around the crops, but the crops themselves continue to grow. It sounds all well and good, except these herbicides have been linked to health problems in consumers. Not only that, this poison kills off the natural fungi and bacteria present in the soil as well as the invertebrate population that breaks down plant matter and feeds the soil. Soil is complex when left to itself. It’s filled with nutrients plants thrive off of and we want in our food.
The run off of the herbicides leach into our waterways poisoning us, but also poisoning the ecology present in the water. It kills off oxygen in the water, starving the life within it.
So how do these plants grow when the soil is devoid of nutrients? Fertilizers. Most mass fertilizers contain three basic nutrients; nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. This pales in comparison to the many nutrients found in soil that is left to thrive or soil where the natural environment is promoted. It’s full of worms and wonderful microbes!
As you can probably guess, the pesticides used to kill off pests are also an issue. They don’t discriminate between a honey bee and a tomato hornworm. This is directly affecting the population of beneficial insects at a rate we can’t really measure accurately. It’s hard to take a census on natural pollinators.
Now let’s address a MAJOR issue with all of these aspects in mind. The fertilizer these GMO crops need and are conditioned to, the herbicide, and the pesticide are all things that you have to get from someone else. These plants aren’t going to thrive without them, they’ve been modified to be dependent on them which makes you dependent on someone else for your food.
The problem with those convenient little seedless watermelons? NO SEEDS! You need more GMO seeds from someone else in order to grow them. If the whole world grows the same GMO crops… we have created a major problem. Think about the implications of this, I don’t think you need me to spell it out for you. What part of your food supply are you not dependent on someone else for?
When we go to a local large chain supermarket, we see a lot of the same thing. Have you ever been to a local farmer’s market? It is filled with diversity! Foods you may have never seen or heard of. Support them if you can’t grow your own food! Supporting local farmers or buying food that isn’t GMO has a chain reaction for our entire food industry.
Am I saying that all GMO crops are bad? No. There are things like golden rice that have been cultivated to bring aid to the world. I am saying that it is dangerous for GMO crops to make up a major portion of our food supply. God created plants to bear seed of their own kind for a reason. One tomato will have hundreds of seeds that can be replanted. That is absolutely incredible to think about! Why do we think we know better?
For more research, check out this Healthline article that shares the view from both sides of the argument. Sources cited.