Science 10 with CSS teacher

If you were to enter the Internet search term “GMO,” you would instantly find millions of sources of information. Try it now—how many results did you get? Debate continues about whether genetically modified foods should be labelled. You can imagine, for example, that an environmentalist would have different ideas about GMOs than a research company hoping to profit from selling them!

Genetically modified organisms contain altered genes. Their genes are altered on purpose with the goal of producing foods (mostly fruits and vegetables) with desirable traits.

One common way to produce a GMO is to use recombinant DNA technology. This means that DNA from two or more species are combined.

Adding foreign genes to plant DNA can improve crops in a number of ways:

• resistance to insects and disease

• improved flavour or appearance

• longer shelf life

• higher crop yields, allowing farmers to grow more food on less land.

Some concerns about GMOs are based on:

• health and safety

• economics

• ethics.

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