Gmo Article Rebuttal

In the March 2011 issue of Better Nutrition, Melissa Smith wrote an article on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and their adverse effects on humans. GMOs are regularly found in today’s manufactured foods, and many physicians and nutritionists believe they are harmful to the human body. There are many fallacies in this article, and the information contained can be construed as less than reliable.

GMOs have taken over the commercial farming industry since their inception in 1996. More than 90% of the United States’ crops of corn, soybeans, and cotton are grown from genetically engineered seeds. These plants are engineered to resist herbicides – harmful chemicals designed to eradicate other plants, such as weeds. The author states, “Most Americans, including many health food shoppers, are eating GM foods without realizing it because the most common GM foods… are not labeled” (p. 47). The author does not provide a source of this information, which could lead the reader to (Institute for Responsible Technology, 2012)question the credibility of the article.

Minimal research has been conducted on the impact of GMOs on human health. According to Smith, who includes data from only one research institute - the American Academy of Environmental Medicine - GMOs can cause infertility, accelerated aging, gastrointestinal problems, and organ damage (Smith, 2011). The author does not disclose the funders of this research, which could have been a coalition of organic food companies and farmers. These groups would put spin on any research findings to boost their public relations campaign to ignite sales and higher revenues.

The article repeatedly quotes an expert on the subject named Dr. Jeffrey M. Smith. Dr. Smith has written multiple books and articles on GMOs and leads a successful nonprofit group called the Institute for Responsible Technology. What the author fails to disclose is her relationship to this expert, as they share the same last name. According...