Disadvantages of GMOs

Chemical Toxicity 

Another potential risk of GMOS is that they are pervasive and may make their way into the food sources of other organisms and negatively impact their health.  Chemical toxicity is when chemicals from pesticides that are harmful for humans and other organisms to consume are leaked into the plants. Science also suggests that the exposure of GMOs to other habitats through various forms of pollution such as runoff is negatively disturbing the overall biodiversity of ecosystems (Brookes & Barfoot, 2017).

The phrase “genetically modified” scares people away, because it gives off the idea that the product is "fake." When people assume food is fake, they fear it will harm their health if they consume it. Specifically, people may believe that GMOs cause cancer, but there is no concrete evidence that supports this notion. GM plants have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration before they can be bought, so it is unlikely that any food that is proven to cause cancer would  be passed by the government. (Gmos: Good or bad for people and the environment?, 2018).

When modifying a gene, the scientists can target what specifically they want to change in that case. However there is a possibility that the engineering could alter something in the crop that was not intended, which is what people worry about. This source shares that when genetically engineering by introducing transgenes into a crop, there are fewer unexpected changes to the biochemical composition of a crop. These changes would be of a lower magnitude compared to the traditional methods of variety development (Herman, Fedorova & Store, 2019). 

The immediate oversight of these technologies can cause the general distrust the public has towards GMOs. In the past, there has not been much acceptance for these new technologies. One aspect of this can be due to the public not understanding the true purpose of risk assessments. These are meant to advocate so that the real safety risks can be distinguished from the negligible risks. This is where some confusion stems from, as there is a large amount of data reported in order to meet the regulatory requirements. With this large amount of information, people then need to compare the actual risks associated with the product (Herman, Fedorova & Store, 2019).