What do a tomato, soybean and a french fry have in common? They are all some of the most commonly genetically modified foods sold on the market today. By using the genetic information from one organism, and inserting or modifying it into another organism, scientists can make food crops stay fresher, grow bigger, and have the crops create their own pesticides. Nevertheless, the technology to modify genes has surpassed its practicality. Genetically modified foods need to be removed from everyday agriculture because of the threat they pose to human health, the environment, and the impact on global economy.

Genetically modified foods could produce new toxic substances, and/or allergens. A gene was inserted into the DNA of a soybean plant to increase the nutritional value of the soybean. However, this particular gene in the genetically modified soybean also produced an allergen. Fortunately, the plant was not put into production. Another example is of a genetically modified tomato called flavor saver. The tomato is larger, tastier, and stays fresher longer than commercial tomatoes on the market. Combining conventional tomato genes with the genes of an arctic trout produces the flavor savor. Nevertheless, questions such as “Will people with seafood allergies be able to consume the tomato?” and “Will the trout genes in the tomato enable new bacteria growth, and thereby make the tomato hazardous to eat?” have still not been answered. This causes the flavor to be a potential hazard