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Genetically Modified Foods Should Be Banned

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On January 15, 2015 Juan Ramos suffered a violent allergic reaction after eating a bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich for lunch. He died an hour after being taken to the hospital. The cause of his death was determined to be sea food allergy. Any chance of cross contamination of his sandwich with sea food was ruled out after forensic investigation. How did Mr Ramos who was a known allergy sufferer reach this fate? The answer lay in the tomatoes that he had eaten for lunch; they not only contained fish related allergens but also contained antibiotic resistant genes which prevented Mr Ramos’ immune system from protecting his body (Billups). The question that comes to mind now is how could something related to seafood be found in a vegetable? This is where genetically modified foods enter the picture. Genetically modified foods are unnaturally produced. Their consumption has been linked with several serious health disorders including cancer. Presence of genetically modified food in the market must be banned. This is a weakly regulated practice and is not only damaging human health but is also slowly but steadily affecting the environment.
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) were introduced into the market in the 1980’s. “In North America, over 80% of our food contains GMO’s” (“GMO’s and Your Family”). They are created by splicing the genes of two organisms to introduce the desired characteristics of one organism into the other. Like in the case of the tomato that Mr Ramos

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