What are GMOs and genetically-engineered crops?
GMO stands for genetically modified organism. Genetic engineering is about changing the blueprint (DNA) in living organisms that determines their growth and behaviour. Scientists can now isolate and combine bits of DNA (genes) from plants, animals, insects, bacteria, and viruses, to create “modified” new life forms. It gets pretty weird. Today, there are genetically modified varieties of veggies and grain that include DNA from insects and bacteria. A gene from a cold water fish has been spliced into a plant’s DNA to create a more cold-hardy plant. Some crops have been modified to resist herbicides and to produce their own pesticides. One Quebec company has put spider DNA into goats to create spider goats whose milk can can be used to make silk. Now, the US seems about to approve rice modified with human DNA that will manufacture pharmaceutical drugs for humans. Many such rather unsettling projects exist or are underway. Depending on who you listen to, and what you choose to believe, ge
