When you hear that your food was or could have been genetically modified, it doesn’t sound good, right?

However, contrary to that common belief, GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) are actually fine. We just don’t feel like researching it further than the horrific or extremely unnatural pictures you find on Google.

As the words ‘genetically modified’ suggest, a genetically modified organism is not 100 percent natural, and has had its genetic material altered.

But that doesn’t mean they are altered for the worse. According to the article “GMO Food Debate in the National Spotlight” on Forbes.com, “GM crops can be made resistant to viruses, engineered to grow faster, engineered to be naturally pest-resistant, therefore not needing pesticide chemicals, they can be made to resist harsh weather conditions, and have added vitamins and nutrients that are helpful to third world countries dealing with malnutrition.”

Also, Bill Gates has stated that GMOs could help solve world hunger, and George Freeman, member of British Parliament stated, “The resilience we need for the future will be delivered by smart plant breeding — and that’s all GM is.”

So why are we so nervous about GMOs?

People are worrying about the potential of new allergies developing, but over two-thirds of the food in our grocery stores are genetically modified. GMOs have been around for almost 20 years, and are common as well as harmless. The fact that we haven’t noticed that most of what we eat is genetically modified until it hit the media, only helps prove that they are harmless.

Another argument that could be made is that we simply have a right to know what is in our food, and the fact that genetically modified foods aren’t labeled as genetically modified with most companies is concerning. Basically, we are afraid of it because we aren’t certain as to what it is.

With 70 percent of our food being genetically modified, it’s safe to assume that what we are eating isn’t completely ‘natural,’ and unless you have an allergy to a certain ingredient, you probably won’t meet death by soda anytime soon because of it’s genetic modification.

If anything, we should be supporting genetic modification. It’s great for farmers, because with the faster growth rate of their food they can produce more and get their crops to stores quicker. We don’t have to worry about a famine because of unfavorable weather, because our food can grow despite that, and we don’t have to worry about pesticide chemicals, because with the help of GMOs the crop will become resistant to pests without the use of harsh chemicals.

We are so busy worrying about the fact that our food doesn’t have the words ‘genetically modified’ on their labels that we look for reasons to hate GMOs, even though there’s no need to do so.

Don’t get me wrong, if you are truly worried about a food being genetically modified, feel free to look it up. If you ask, the company is required to tell you. You have every right to be aware of what you’re eating.

But don’t blindly believe that GMOs are the root of all evil and that the companies using them are pure evil because they use GMOs.

It’s been stressed that we don’t know enough about GMOs and therefore should completely oppose them, but in the process we are ignoring the fact that GMOs are beneficial to the farmers, the companies, and us, the consumers.

We should be stressing the benefits, instead of theories that haven’t even been proven correct.