What Are Genetically Modified Foods??
The GMO Vigilantes enjoy living on planet Earth, and we hope you do too! So let's all be nice to Mother Nature and get rid of genetically modified foods. Some farmers practice a technique called artificial selection, opposed to natural selection, to increase the efficiency of their operations. This technique could involve saving genetic material, seeds from organisms with desirable traits. The farmers then use the genetic material in future endeavors increasing the frequency of the desired trait in the farmers’ overall population of organisms. Artificial selection also encompasses the practice of controlled breeding by the farmers. These techniques are time consuming, literally taking generations to show results. Other farmers practice genetic engineering to increase the frequency of desired traits in some cases even to one hundred percent with the use of cloning. The science of genetics deals with genes, which are traits that correspond to specific segments of DNA located on any particular chromosome. Using restriction enzymes and highly specialized machinery, scientist create genetically modified food with beneficial traits more efficiently than the latter method. Now around seventy percent of all food on the market is either genetically modified or contains genetically modified product. Genetically Modified Foods obtain their basic genetic makeup from a laboratory. They can be engineered to affect various traits
including resistance to pests, increased growth rate and size, fortification
with vitamins, and modification of the plant for easier harvest. The process could be
beneficial, or turn out to be harmful to the consumer, the economy or to the environment. Genetic engineering in foods is a fairly new development which became popular in the 1990's. Therefore not much research has been done on the long term affects that genetically modified food could have. Why eat an apple filled with harmful chemicals, when you can eat a delicious apple that is organic and pure? Join the revolution!!!