By Nora Doyle
The debate on whether or not GMOs are good or bad has been going on for a while now and has become more of a commonly talked about issue as the organic foods movement has become more popular.
What are GMOs? GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. Forbes.com scribes GMOs as an organism whose genetic material or DNA has been changed in an unnatural way. ’Forbes’ also says GMOs are mostly designed to increase the nutritional value, and protect crops against pests.
As for organic food, ’Forbes’ describes it as food that doesn’t contain any pesticides or fertilizers, and is completely natural. Some people swear by organic foods and refuse to eat anything that has been genetically modified, and others don’t want to spend the extra money just for products that are fully natural.
The first topic of this argument has to do with this money opinion.
When you look at a package of organic blueberries at the grocery store, compared to blueberries that do not say organic, you will notice that the organic blueberries are significantly more expensive. Some people believe it’s worth the extra money, but some don’t.
There are a few reasons why organic food is more expensive according to OrganicAlberta, and one reason is that the demand is often greater than supply. Also, they say organic farming methods are more expensive than non organic farming methods, meaning they have to sell at higher prices.
Is organic food actually better for you?
According to Harvard Medical University, organic foods don’t appear to have nutritional advantages. USDA data shows that organic foods do have fewer pesticide residues, but both organic and non organic are the same level of safe for consumption.
However, Harvard studies do say that organic farming doesn’t feed their animals growth hormones. They are mostly naturally raised, so it may be arguable that organic is better for the animals.
Overall, it seems as though GMOs don’t really do much for us, but neither does organic food. Eat what you like how you like it!
Plaid Line 