PORTLAND, OR—Local resident and regular tobacco user Cami Sheridan is one of more than a million individuals who oppose the use of genetically modified plants in food sources. "I won't touch it if it's not locally grown organic," Sheridan, 32, explains. "Just think of all the chemicals people put in their bodies eating processed foods," adds the four-time employee of the month at Trader Joe's who at least six times per day consumes a tobacco product known in the entire free world to cause cancer.
Sheridan is particularly dubious of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) because of what she believes to be "their harmful effects on individuals and the environment." The cashier focuses negative energy on these "unnatural foods" because of their potential to "cause mutations in humans," ignoring solid research that shows every few packs of cigarettes smoked results in a lung cell mutation.
Regarding the environmental factor, the scientific community has yet to accept any research suggesting that genetically modified crops, such as rice and corn, negatively impact the environment; in fact, many of the plants have been engineered to produce their own pesticide, reducing the need for external spraying of pesticides that can harm non-target insect species. Tobacco smoke, on the other hand, is at its core a form of air pollution, and cigarette butts are the single most prevalent litter item in the entire world.
Apparently unaware that 90% of tobacco produced in the United States is genetically modified, Ms. Sheridan took a long drag on her cigarette and continued, "I hope one day all GMO producers will be snuffed out for trying to profit from poisoning people."
When asked to comment on evidence that tobacco smoke is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. and is widely understood to increase risk of heart and lung diseases, Sheridan went into a coughing fit and seemed not to hear the question.