A genetically modified organism or GMO is any organism whose had its genetic material altered using genetic engineering techniques. We humans have been using selective breeding or artificial selection for a very long time. This process takes the desired traits of an organism and breeds them whilst weeding out the organisms lacking the desired trait are not bred. This was the precursor to what we now call genetic modification. In 1973, Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen created the first genetically modified organism. They took the process of what our distant ancestors accomplished and mixed in modern science. The process of creating a GMO is rather simple. First, they identified the trait of interest and then the isolated the genetic trait. They inserted the desired trait into the new genome and thus
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This process has since evolved to take hold into our plants and animals that we now consume on a daily basis. Almost all of the items that you consume on a daily basis has a wilder, less edible counterpart that once was. We can use the example of genetically modified maize or better known as corn. Corn was first domesticated around 7,000 BC and according to studies, was barely edible and had the consistency of a raw potato. Between artificial selection and genetically modifying this crop, it has become 1,000 times larger, 3.5 times sweeter, and much easier to grow than its wild counterpart. Modern genetically modified corn is now also herbicide resistance and can even produce its own insecticide to produce a greater yield. A big question going around currently is that “Are genetically modified foods safe?”. According to recent studies done over the past 10 years, scientists have found
This process has since evolved to take hold into our plants and animals that we now consume on a daily basis. Almost all of the items that you consume on a daily basis has a wilder, less edible counterpart that once was. We can use the example of genetically modified maize or better known as corn. Corn was first domesticated around 7,000 BC and according to studies, was barely edible and had the consistency of a raw potato. Between artificial selection and genetically modifying this crop, it has become 1,000 times larger, 3.5 times sweeter, and much easier to grow than its wild counterpart. Modern genetically modified corn is now also herbicide resistance and can even produce its own insecticide to produce a greater yield. A big question going around currently is that “Are genetically modified foods safe?”. According to recent studies done over the past 10 years, scientists have found