The fear some people have over ingesting genetically modified crops are not recent. A part of society has divided opinion regarding the usage of genetically modified crops in everyday-lives, which comes from the suspicion that genetically modified crops are harmful to the body. This fear has grown to the point that supermarkets have labeled produces that are organic and those that are not. Brands also jump into the train, where they promote their brands free of genetically modified crops.
This, however, cannot be further from the truth, as genetically modified crops are perfectly safe for humans to consume. Genetically modified crops have been modified to suit humans’ needs from nutrition (where the crops have been enhanced to fit humans’ biological needs), efficiency (less chance for pesticide or ecosystem threats to disrupt the crops) and overall effectiveness of logistics and food to serve. The misunderstanding stems from the usage of the word modify, where people misinterpret it as synthetic, which are not natural to the body. Not all modified foods are dangerous, some can be healthy as well. This fear drives people to opt for organic choices, which can be expensive and inefficient. Organic crops cost a lot more to maintain and provide no additional value comparing to genetically modified crops. There is no scientific proof that organic crops are better than genetically modified crops from a lot of different fields like their nutrition and efficiency. In fact, genetically modified crops have been proved to be more cost-effective and beneficial to people.
The easiest way to combat this unfounded fear is to provide education and socialisation to society regarding genetically modified crops. Provide a concise and simple scientific explanation about genetically modified crops and their advantages over the other choices. People look at what they can gain, thus it is better to emphasise on what they receive from buying genetically modified crops rather than big numbers on the collective benefits. But also inform them on the benefits when done right, explicitly state and compare on how it is better than falling back to the state of buying organic. It is desirable to see the results where people have been properly informed and convinced, so that the aftereffects of the fear would be diminished.