In his blog post, Fredric Ho talked about Monsanto and how it obtained such a negative image through various situations such as not testing its products and using its patents to sue small farmers. As a closing statement, Ho wondered if the government should implement anti-GMO polices. I would say yes, for the following health and financial reasons:

1)      If we are just consuming GMOs, then our crops will be susceptible to the same disease as the GMOs have the same genetic engineering. If that’s the case, than humans as a whole will be venerable because of over reliance on a single type of seed. In traditional farming farmers use a variety of seeds thus preventing any single virus from ruining the whole crop yield.

2)      Big companies like Monsanto use their patents and sue family farms for processing of their patent seeds. Soon, all family farms will die off. Only behemoth corporations like Monsanto will be left in agriculture where they will use using their monopoly and charge high prices.

3)      We do not know any health complications that may result from consuming GMO products. This is due to the fact that companies do not want to invest the time and money to find out, as they are not legally required to do so. Moreover, I believe effects from GMO will not be felt in our generation but in our grandchildren’s because the full effects of the GMO products will not be felt until concentration of the GMO substances biomagnifies in our body.

Due to the above reasons, the US government should implement some measures to curb the number of GMO products in the United States.

Photo Credits:

Gould, David. Genetically Modified Food Tomatoes. N.d. Photograph. Getty Images.Treehugger.com. Treehugger, 3 Dec. 2009. Web. 1 Nov. 2012. <http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/gmo-bans-laws-and-labels-from-around-the-world.html>.