Genitically Engineered Food essays

Genitically Engineered Food essays The biggest experiment in human history has begun, with us as the guinea pigs and planets ecological system as the test site. Need more hints about the topic. We find it mixed in our food on the shelves in the supermarket and we find it growing in the test fields. Give up? The topic is genetically engineered food. Everyone is talking about it. Well whats the big deal? you ask. Its nothing new. Humans have been using bio-technology for the preparation and manufacture of food for hundreds of years; using yeast for making beer and bread and selecting the breeding plants and animals for higher productivity and nutritive value. (1) Genetic engineering is a new technology that breaks down the genetic barriers between species, humans, animals and plants. It combines genetic engineering with conventional breeding methods. Its the process of artificially modifying genes. In reality its frightening. Genetic engineering poses ethical and social concerns as well as serious challenges to the environment, human health and the future of agriculture, but is it really safe? Many are against it and are trying to find answers to the problem? First things first, to find out what genetically modified foods are, we will have to know what genetic engineering is. Well its the movement of genes from one organism to another and is often termed recombinant DNA technology, also known as genetic modification or genetic manipulation, but for those who prefer the ultimate truth, its cutting out genes and splicing in new genes from totally unrelated species. (2) Scientists are being able to transfer genes from fish to tomato, human to pig, scorpion to potato, and about any other unsavoury combination you can imagine. Each experiment in this field presents unique problems, but all share four separate stages: Stage 1. Cleavage. The first stage is the generation of specific DNA fragments by cl...