A genetically modified organism, or GMO, is an organism that has had its DNA altered or modified in some way through genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is a common and essential practice in biotechnology, to harvest organisms with traits which are more favorable for the human population. The development and marketing of GMOs to provide cheaper, yet more durable and nutritional products has made a huge impact on the environment and on agricultural practices around the world. According to National Geography, more than sixty percent of all processed foods on U.S. supermarket shelves contain ingredients from engineered soybeans, corn, or canola, and more than fifty different designer crops have passed through a federal review process. Despite …show more content…
Different GM organisms include different genes inserted in different ways and the process involves, ‘ identifying a trait of interest, isolating that genetic trait, inserting that trait into the genome of a desired organism, and then growing the engineered organism’( World Health Organization). Once the trait of interest is identified using comparative analysis, the specific gene is separated using gel electrophoresis, and goes through a polymerase chain reaction to make copies of desired gene. GMOs have often been altered with DNA from another organism, transgenic organisms such as bacteria, plant, virus or animal. The specific gene or the DNA strand of interest is cut and paste by certain enzymes into a plasmid, which is a small circular molecule of DNA. After a genetic trait has been successfully inserted into an organism’s genome, the modified organism grows and replicates by mitosis with its newly engineered genome. However, since different GMOs have different genes inserted in different ways, it is difficult to make a general statement on the processing and consumption safety GM foods all