What is a Genetically Modified Food?
A genetically modified (GM) food is one that has had its genes altered by scientists. (If it’s been a while since biology class: genes are the segments of DNA that differentiate living things; they’re blueprints for organisms.) To genetically modify something, scientists take genes from a plant, animal, or virus and insert them into another organism, hoping to introduce a new characteristic. The goal is to produce an item that is improved in some way. So, for example, they might take a gene from an animal that thrives in cold weather and put it in a fruit that’s sensitive to frost. Or they might add a gene to a corn plant to make it more nutritious, more resistant to herbicides, pests, or disease, or more heat and drought tolerant. In altering the organism, scientists are altering its genetic makeup. Genetic engineers have no restrictions like those that nature provides; genetic combinations occur in the lab that are not possible in nature. (Nature doesn’t allow for a fish to reproduce
