GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms, are becoming a part of our world. I think there are many reasons why this is a good thing, and I’m going to give you 3 of them. Then I’ll explain why there are no concerns relating to GMOs that have any scientific basis for them. Let’s begin.
First of all, the world population is growing at a faster rate than ever: there will be almost 10 billion humans on this Earth by 2050. According to many estimates, including those from BBC and the United Nations, our world cannot support that many people with current technologies. It is simply not possible. But GMOs can help.The Word Resources Organisation notes that GMOs will be an essential tool in sustaining 10 billion people. And they do this by modifying animals or plants to be more nutritious and less likely to fail. Therefore, the same amount of land can be used to grow more food, and therefore that same amount of land can feed more people.
This leads nicely into my next point, which is the benefit to farmers. Last year, over 17 billion dollars was lost from failed crops. This can be reduced with the use of GMOS. For example, a gene from a fish which allows it to survive in very cold temperatures has been implanted into a tomato. Its antifreeze properties mean the crops do not fail in cold temperatures. It also means that the plant can now be grown in areas which were previously thought to just be too cold. This is just the tip of the iceberg - there are so many use cases just like this one, which will deliver huge benefits to farmers.
Finally, let’s turn to the benefit to the environment. GMOs reduce the need for harmful pesticides, because the effects of the pesticides can effectively be built into the plants themselves. Over the last 20 years, GMOs have reduced pesticide applications by 8.2% and helped increase crop yields by 22%. But wait, there’s more. Genetically modified plants can be designed to decompose into the ground after a certain time period, reducing the need for tilling and ploughing, which saves fuel costs. In 2016 alone, GMOs reduced the amount of fuel used equivalent to taking 16 million cars off the road for an entire year.
Now, to the problems. Or rather, not to the problems… because there are none.
The main concerns that people have with GMOs are these.
-Creating foods that can cause an allergic reaction or that are toxic
-Unexpected or harmful genetic changes
-Genes moving from one GM plant or animal to another plant or animal that is not genetically engineered
-Foods that are less nutritious
These concerns have proven to be unfounded. None of the GE foods used today have caused any of these problems. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assesses all GE foods to make sure they are safe before allowing them to be sold.
I hope I have convinced you that GMOs cause huge benefits, while causing no real problems. Thank you.
Unbiased media has never really existed in the US: even if there is a centrist publication, it would be biased towards the centre over any other political affiliation.
News sites like CNN, New York Times and MSNBC are left-wing biased, while other news sites like Fox News, Breitbart and NewsMax are right-wing biased. These are two political affiliations pulling in opposite directions, so the average person is confused and not sure which way to lean. Anyway, when I say that news sites are "left-wing biased" or "right-wing biased" I am not saying they necessarily distort the facts, although some do. There are many other ways to influence left vs right bias in a news outlet, such as story selection (choosing news stories which favour a certain political agenda).
Well, I think that if students are sacrificing their health, they are actually not helping their studies at all. They are harming their studies. Because, if they are unhealthy, they will not have good mental wellbeing, and so they will work less efficiently. On the other hand, being active improves memory, as this study shows: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/
I hope I have convinced you of the sway to the truth: that students should not sacrifice their health for their study.
No. There is so much more to a country than just its government. The culture, the food, the weather, the people that live there, all of these things have nothing to do with the government.
Threat of war is no joke. It is something that should not have to exist today. War only causes destruction. It is a terrible way of resolving disputes, because it causes both sides to lose huge amounts of wealth. And so, war often ends up as an economic game of chicken, both sides seeing who can wait it out for the longest while the other side loses money by the minute. I sincerely hope that Mutually Assured Destruction will come in and save us from real nuclear war, because it would be an enormous threat to life. Sorry if this comes across as scare mongering, I literally just sat down at the computer and wrote my honest thoughts.
It is clearly true that no one should be assaulted for saying what they think. That is of course wrong. But I don't think that makes insulting religions right.
It is still wrong to disrespect other people because of their beliefs, it is just not as bad as assaulting people because of their beliefs. They are two sides of the same coin: assaulting people because of their beliefs stems from disrespect, and adds onto it with violence.
I think that it is not just the agenda of people on the left, everyone (left or right) wants to prevent deaths from COVID, and the vaccine is the best way of doing that. Yes there are side effects but taking the vaccine is a lot less dangerous than getting COVID. And so, whether you are political left or right, you can and should get your vaccine. Not only will it protect you, it will protect others around you (your family members for example).
I think we should not criticise or insult Islam. We should be tolerant of people's religions. Think about it: the religious person has not done anything to deserve being insulted. We should all respect each other, and then we will be able to live alongside each other peacefully. So in conclusion, just be respectful and tolerant of people's religious beliefs.
