The Pros And Cons Of Genetically Modified Foods

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Should genetically modified foods be labeled? GMO, “genetically modified organisms”, are organisms that have been enhanced or altered in the laboratory by genetic engineering. This makes a product of mixed animal, plant, and bacteria genes that can’t be found anywhere in nature. The main purpose of GMOs is to allow the plant to withstand against insects that can be affecting the growth of the crops and to increase environmental tolerance such as for a drought. GMOs can be seen in animals by increasing the growth up to twice the original size. Why do people care if GMOs are labeled or not? Cornejo and Wechsler (2015) state that 75% of processed foods are said to contain genetically engineered ingredients. This issue affects almost everyone. …show more content…

Its structure is quite the same as the ordinary tomato, but the difference was that the fruit itself degraded slower so it would be able to stay on the shelves longer. The traditional way of transferring genes in order to achieve desirable traits was with selective breeding, with today’s technology and scientists are able to physically move genes to enhance the traits in plants. It is not only seen in plants, but also in animals, which involve altering the genetic material by adding, changing or eliminating certain DNA sequences. The motive is to modify specific characteristics of an animal or introduce a new improved trait, such as disease resistance or enhanced growth. DNA is the carrier of genetic information of an organism. Changes introduced in an animal’s genetic structure can therefore be transmitted to the next generation. How is this done? Gene transfer technology is an advanced version of a cut-and-paste operation. Once the wanted gene is identified in the organism's genome, it can be taken out, transferred to a plant, and pasted into its genome. Once the new gene has been introduced, the plant can be bred to create a new strain that passes the gene from generation to generation (The Genetic Science Learning Center at the University of Utah,