  |
|||
|
|
|
||
|
Posted by Victoria Anisman-Reiner Jun 11, 2008 |
Common jargon would have you believe that GMO or "genetically modified organisms" are a new development in the world of farming, but it isn't so.
For as long as agriculture has existed, farmers have modified the genetic makeup of food and commerical crops: from livestock to crops grown for grain, vegetables, tea or fiber, humans have altered the genetic code of living things we use by selectively breeding strains of dairy cattle, or only growing particular varieties of oats or beans.
So to say that GMO foods are a new development is unclear - because although we have selectively bred a crop, such as wheat, for certain qualities (inevitably related to the genetic code), selective breeding and growing is a far cry from the kind of genetic modifications we are seeing in labs today.
Lab research into genetic modifications involves "pasting" a short strand of genetic code from one organism into another, and observing the impact as the new "genetically modified" organism develops. This research has resulted in plant crops that produce their own pesticides, and pigs whose waste is less toxic to the environment (contains less phosphate). Yet the long-term impact on the organism's health - and on the health of the humans eating those crops - is unknown.
How is this different from "naturally" bred GMO's? It's a matter of extent. While wheat has been extensively altered by agriculture, the changes in its genetic structure are fairly minimal and are modifications that could have happened without human intervention, given the right circumstances and enough time. The changes laboratories are making - such as splicing E. coli genes into pigs - are unlikely to have occurred in nature, and represent a much larger change in the gene. Whether or not this change is hazardous may remain unknown for years to come.