Non-GMO Food is more Beneficial to Society than GMO Food

My RefutationsGMOs Make Better Crops My opponent states that disease crops could be beneficial. However, disease-resistant crops such as papaya actually dropped down in price in the year 2006, because countries like Japan are uncertain about GMOs affects on human health. These GMO crops are a burden on the U.S.'s economy because of other countries like Japan not wanting to buy them. Virologist Jonatham Latham stated that inserting viral protein in a plant could cause a new evolution of viruses.[1]Con says that an anti-freeze gene would make crops more resilient to cold weather.The effectiveness of cold-tolerant crops is not yet clear though. Dr. Wang and her colleagues from Iowa State University did not find a correlation between higher sugar levels and a higher resistance to colder temperatures. Dr. Wang stated that the effectiveness of NPK1 (anti-freeze gene) is not yet clear. Hence, GMOs need further testing and haven't been proven to do this.[2] It's like a scientist saying with his newly found medicine, he might cure AIDS. Great, but has it been proven effective enough to do this? Are there any harmful side-effects? This same principle applies to GMOs. "In addition, because the world population as surpassed seven billion and is projected to continue to skyrocket for at least the next half century, more crops will have to be grown - and that means that crops will need to be grown in more unfavorable locations; locations that would have previously been considered unusable."India has one of the most formidable growing conditions in Asia. The GMO BT cotton crops were more expensive, required a higher amount of water, and in some cases, the yield didn't even increase. Thus, Indian cotton farmers aquired a large amount debt, which caused some to commit suicide.[3] Also, Indian rice farmers are doing just fine without GMO crops or herbicide. One farmer grew 22.4 tonnes of rice on one hectare, a world record. [4] GMOs certainly wouldn't solve the problem in Africa. In fact, GMO companies make it illegal to save seeds which African farmers usually do. They even have the right to sue of a GMO seed landed in a farmers field since the seed is "patented". Also, drought-tolerant crops are not yet on the market and the only two types of GM that have been sold in the past 15 years in Africa have only been pest and herbicide resistant, which aren't the cause of starvation. There has also been discussion about whether they'll ever be on the market. This certainly wouldn't solve world hunger. [5]Con asserts that GMO crops would provide more nutrients to people and could be engineered to contain more vitamins and minerals. However, a 2012 Nutritional Analysis report stated that GMO corn was greatly lacking in vitamins and minerals and even contained toxic chemicals such as glysophate. Nutrients such as potassium were up to 13 times higher in non-GMO corn. GMOs don't reduce the amount of dangerous materials as Con states, they actually increase them![6]GMOs Help the EnvironmentI strongly disagree with my opponents point. In fact, they destroy the environment. Here are three main environmental risks:1. There are unintented effects on the biodiversity of organisms by animals consuming the wrong protein. This is caused by impacts on non-target species, which occurs thorugh predation or competition, or by sudden changes in agricultural practices. For instance, the monarch butterfly population could be wiped out if pollen from BT corn is blown onto the milkweed plant which the monarch consumes. The BT toxins are poisonous to the butterfly. GMO crops could also be harmful to non-target species that aren't pests.2. There are unintented effects on bigeochemistry, through effects microbial populations in the soil that regulate nitorgen and phosphorus etc.3. There could be gene transfer to non-target species. For example, a herbicide-resistant gene from a crop could transfer to the weed which would cause weeds to be resistant to pesticides themselves. [7][8] [9]"The benefits of the ‘Bt cotton’ are a reduction in pesticide use, an increase in yields and profits, and health benefits for farm workers who often apply pesticides without protective clothing."According to Dr. Sudhir Kumar Kaura, sheep died 10 to 15 days after consuming BT cotton leaves. He also stated that buffaloes perished months later after consuming the same BT cotton. He also observed that animals were becoming unproductive and failed to reproduce. Is this helping the environment? Indian farmers didn't see an increase in higher yields or profits. Instead, they committed suicide. [10]GMOs have also been found to have glyphosate in them which is a huge toxin to the environment going back to my argument about the nutrition of corn. As you can see, GMOs don't benefit the environment.MY ArgumentsGMOs are UnhealthyWorld renowned scientists such as Arpad Puztai have pointed out the negative effects of GMOs. He pointed out the effects of GMOs on rats and that it negatively impacted their immune system and gastrointestinal health. The three main concerns for human health is allergenicity, gene transfer, and outcrossing.Allergenicty: The transfer of genes from commonly allergenic foods poses a health risk.Gene transfer: Accidental GMO transfer to human body's gastrointestinal tract adversly affects human healthOutcrossing: This is the most significant factor: "The movement of genes from GM plants into conventional crops or related species in the wild (referred to as “outcrossing”), as well as the mixing of crops derived from conventional seeds with those grown using GM crops, may have an indirect effect on food safety and food security. This risk is real, as was shown when traces of a maize type which was only approved for feed use appeared in maize products for human consumption in the United States of America." [9] [11]GMOs Negatively Impact FarmersMonsanto has sued many farmers by patented seeds blowing into farmer's fields. Saskatchewan farmer, Percy Schmeiser has tried to argue that it accidently blew into his field but Monsanto sued him. His been fighting Monsanto ever since then.[12]With farmers being sued over patented seeds, and Indian farmers commiting suicide, it definitely negatively impacts them.ConclusionGMOs negatively impact human health, the environment and the economy and have resulted in farmers committing suicide. Obviously, Non-GMO food is more beneficial than horrendous GMO food.Sources:http://www.responsibletechnology.org...;[1]http://www.truthabouttrade.org...[2]http://www.chrgj.org...;[3]http://www.theguardian.com...;[4]http://www.theguardian.com...;[5]http://www.globalresearch.ca...;[6]http://www.fao.org...;[7]http://www.csa.com...;[8]http://www.who.int...;[9]http://www.indymediascotland.org...;[10]http://www.wsws.org...;[11]http://www.cbc.ca...;[12]