There seems to be a fair amount of confusion as to what this term actually means and why there is such hot debate regarding their use and labeling.
First, let's clarify what these are. GMO's or "Genetically Modified Organisms" does not refer to plants created as a result of lab or natural hybridization. Many times, I have seen it argued that if you are anti-GMO then you must be anti strawberry because the modern day strawberry is actually a result of a cross pollination of two wild species that took place many decades ago. This is wrong. GMO's are resulted from modifying the DNA of an agricultural crop. By removing or altering specific genes companies like Monsanto have been able to engineer things like soy to withstand more and more potent pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
See over the last several decades weeds and fungus have become stronger and more resilient to traditional chemical killers of these organisms and thus Monsanto (who also manufactures commercial and residential "ROUND-UP") and others have been forced to increase the potency of their chemicals to manage crop invaders. GMO crops that have been treated with these high potency chemicals are so toxic that immediately after treatment those working in and around these crops are advised to steer clear of the plants due to their high toxicity and carcinogen content. So, of course this raises health and environmental concerns.
See here in Boulder we have the Boulder Creek and it is well documented that fish and other critters living in the creek have been feminized (meaning boy fish are losing testosterone and more female eggs are hatching) over the years as a result of hormone inhibitors contained in pesticides in crop run off. There are many reasons these chemicals are harmful and should be closer regulated.
So in essence a GMO soy bean or corn kernel in and of itself is not a bad thing, the danger comes as a result of the reason they were altered in the first place...
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