Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically modified foods, otherwise known as GMO’s, are bioengineered foods that come from organisms that have had changes to their DNA. They can be defined as “A genetically modified organism is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques.”

Over the years, humans have been genetically modifying things for many years, but it has been through what is called selective breeding which is “the process by which humans use animal breeding to develop particular phenotypic traits by choosing which typically animal males and females will sexually reproduce and have offspring together.”. That being said, with each generation those genes and phenotypes get more pronounced.

What makes GMO’s different compared to selective breeding, is that it eliminates the idea of chance because we can simply pick and choose the traits that we want in these organisms. For example, growing bigger plants or making them immune to pests.

Another idea correlating with genetically modified foods is gene flow. GMO crops could mix with traditional crops creating new unwanted new characteristics. There have been case where GMO plants where they weren’t planted and traces found in other plants.