Genetic Engineering and Food

Although there are many pertinent arguments both for and against genetic engineering in our foods, for our purposes here in this website, we will focuse primarily on the scientific merit, and thus the 'good' that genetically engineering our food can bring. For arguments to the contrary, try checking out greenpeace. For more on genetic engineering in general, please check here.

 

For a food to be 'genetically engineered', it simply refers to the fact that its genetically order structure has been altered. This further implies that it has had changes made involving insertions or removals of its genetic code. Take for example corn. There are certain genetic combinations within the code itself known as genes, which determine many of the physical characteristics of the food itself, such as seasonal heat required, temperature of germination and so forth. By changing the genetic structure of the seed bearing plant itself, it is possible to alter the phsyical charecteristics of the plants which evolve from the seed of that plant itself. Sweet Corn for example, is usually extremely sensitive to a particular insect. By adding one gene from the a particular bacterium into the corn's genetic structure, the corn immediately becomes productive of its own biologically based insecticide.

 

Seen below is a graph of the statistical growth of the use of genetically engineered crops.