Example: Corn + DNA from soil bacteria that is naturally immune to RoundUp herbicide + e.coli bacteria + soil bacteria that causes tumors in plants (which enables the plant’s cell wall to be breached) = RoundUp Ready Corn (one of several RoundUp Ready crops engineered by Monsanto).
Other examples of GMOs include strawberries and tomatoes injected with fish genes to protect the fruit from freezing, goats injected with spider genes to produce milk with proteins stronger than kevlar for use in industrial products, salmon that are genetically engineered with a growth hormone that allow them to keep growing larger, dairy cows injected with the genetically engineered hormone rBGH (also known as rBST) to increase milk production, and rice injected with human genes to produce pharmaceuticals.
How are Crops Genetically Modified?
Foreign DNA is inserted into the primary plant species using one of three methods:
E.coli bacteria is combined with a soil bacteria that causes tumors that allows the foreign bacteria to breach the host plant’s cells.
Electricity is applied to the host plant to rupture its cell walls, thus allowing the foreign DNA to invade; or
A “gene gun” blasts the engineered DNA directly into the plant’s cells.
For a more visual explanation, watch this video (the process graphics begin at the 2.20 minute mark).
Because the injected genes can come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans, GMOs are also known as “transgenic” organisms. Because genes operate in a complex network in ways that are still not fully understood (as discovered during the Human Genome Research Project), genetic engineering can result in both known and unknown / unintended consequences.
What is the Intended Outcome of Genetic Modification?
The websites and marketing materials of the companies that are conducting genetic modification would have you believe that GMOs will feed the world’s ever growing, hungry population—with greater crop yields, more drought resistance, increased nutrition, and other worthy-sounding benefits.
However after nearly two decades of development, none of these traits have come to market. View a list of the top ten genetically modified crops and see which genetically engineered traits are most predominant.