The Ethics of Genetically Modified Organisms: Are GMOs Helpful or Harmful?

At present, the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) industry is rapidly expanding and progressing in many ways in different sectors, ranging from healthcare to agriculture. As new GMOs continue to progress and become more sophisticated, differing opinions on policy views have emerged on how regulated the GMO industry should be. Consumers and professionals alike are divided on whether GMOs are safe, ethical, sustainable, equitable, and affordable. GMOs have shown to be very helpful in keeping up with the demand for food as the population continues to increase and helping to create revolutionary technologies that aid humans, but with many unknown adverse effects, the population stays divided on the extent of their use. This confusion, coupled with rampant amounts of misinformation, has kept many in the dark about their potential benefits for the wellness of society, and have remained unaware about how they may pose to be harmful to future generations, especially when it comes to things like biodiversity and the evolutionary repercussions of tampering with genomes. Despite this, GMOs are essential to the continual survival and well-being of humans. GMOs' potential benefits to the health and prosperity of the human race far outweigh the risks and disadvantages.