A Peculiar Solution

WHAT ARE GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS?

Genetically modified foods (GMF for short), also known as GMOs, are foods that have been altered by the addition of the genetic material of another organism. The end result is known as a transgenic or genetically modified food. Depending on what one wanted to change, one could create the ideal crop- one that is resistant to any sort of disease or pest, cheap and plentiful to harvest, of high nutritional value, and resistant to perishing.

Using this technique, foods can be accurately and rapidly altered in ways no one ever thought possible. For example, scientists could turn a normal, cholesterol filled chicken egg, into a healthy, artery clogging-free egg by this selective breeding process. Real life examples include the development of a sweet potato resistant to the feathery mottle virus, that took much of the African harvest, and a “golden rice” crop with superior iron, protein, and Vitamin A levels, to fight malnutrition in Asia. This trend is quickly catching on, with future plans to develop a banana as a vaccine against hepatitis B. GMFs are more common than we actually realize. Everything from tomatoes, corn, maize, sweet potatoes, to soya oil all have and all continue to be produced in this revolutionary, scientific fashion. In fact, half of North America’s soy crop is genetically altered. Certain medicines and vaccines and crops, like cotton, too, are products of genetic modification.

Today, GMFs are a multinationally accepted practice, with countries such as the United States, Argentina, Brazil, India and China all producing these foods.

HOW ARE GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS CREATED?

In the simplest terms, it involves cutting out and pasting DNA from one crop to another, in a process called recombinant DNA. In this engineering process, the phenotype (the basic genetic makeup) of an organism, the genome, which could be an animal, plant, or even bacteria, is enhanced by the addition of the genes of a living organism or other component (ie: an enzyme) to make a certain product.

Acting much like pair of scissors, restriction enzymes first cut off the DNA sequence at a specific spot, called a plasmid, from the biological source. These plasmids are fragments of DNA in bacteria that will transfer chromosomes from one site to the other. This plasmid is inserted into the target cell, where it will be glued together with ligase, an enzyme. After this, it will “express the gene,” meaning that under the right conditions, it should reproduce quickly and efficiently. This technology is used frequently to produce antibiotics, cures for sickle cell anemia and even insulin, which would normally only be produced in the body.

These genetically modified crops can receive DNA from both non-plant and plant sources.

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WHAT ARE GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS?

Genetically modified foods (GMF for short), also known as GMOs, are foods that have been altered by the addition of the genetic material of another organism. The end result is known as a transgenic or genetically modified food. Depending on what one wanted to change, one could create the ideal crop- one that is resistant to any sort of disease or pest, cheap and plentiful to harvest, of high nutritional value, and resistant to perishing.

Using this technique, foods can be accurately and rapidly altered in ways no one ever thought possible. For example, scientists could turn a normal, cholesterol filled chicken egg, into a healthy, artery clogging-free egg by this selective breeding process. Real life examples include the development of a sweet potato resistant to the feathery mottle virus, that took much of the African harvest, and a “golden rice” crop with superior iron, protein, and Vitamin A levels, to fight malnutrition in Asia. This trend is quickly catching on, with future plans to develop a banana as a vaccine against hepatitis B. GMFs are more common than we actually realize. Everything from tomatoes, corn, maize, sweet potatoes, to soya oil all have and all continue to be produced in this revolutionary, scientific fashion. In fact, half of North America’s soy crop is genetically altered. Certain medicines and vaccines and crops, like cotton, too, are products of genetic modification.

Today, GMFs are a multinationally accepted practice, with countries such as the United States, Argentina, Brazil, India and China all producing these foods.

HOW ARE GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS CREATED?

In the simplest terms, it involves cutting out and pasting DNA from one crop to another, in a process called recombinant DNA. In this engineering process, the phenotype (the basic genetic makeup) of an organism, the genome, which could be an animal, plant, or even bacteria, is enhanced by the addition of the genes of a living organism or other component (ie: an enzyme) to make a certain product.

Acting much like pair of scissors, restriction enzymes first cut off the DNA sequence at a specific spot, called a plasmid, from the biological source. These plasmids are fragments of DNA in bacteria that will transfer chromosomes from one site to the other. This plasmid is inserted into the target cell, where it will be glued together with ligase, an enzyme. After this, it will “express the gene,” meaning that under the right conditions, it should reproduce quickly and efficiently. This technology is used frequently to produce antibiotics, cures for sickle cell anemia and even insulin, which would normally only be produced in the body.

These genetically modified crops can receive DNA from both non-plant and plant sources.