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Genetically Modified Foods 1989: 37 Americans are killed and 5,000 left permanently disabled from a fatal blood disorder, after consuming a toxin produced by genetically modified food. 1999: Genetically altered “snowdrop potatoes” found to have a viral promoter that damages the organs and immune systems of mammals. 2001: 60% of all processed foods (bread, ice cream, meat products and candies) in U.S. markets include genetically modified soybean products. The future: Superpests, superweeds, and mutated organisms will be created. These facts illustrate during the past decade, the largest experiment in human history has begun with humans as the guinea pigs and the world’s ecological system as the test site (Torr 112). Despite the few positive effects from the making and growing of genetically modified foods, these foods are harmful to human health and society. To assess the damages that genetically modified (GM) foods pose to the world, people need to familiarize themselves with what genetically modifying food is. To genetically engineer something, scientists have to change the DNA of the living organism through various “genetic surgery” laboratory techniques. All organisms have genes, made up of DNA, which is the blueprint for everything in the living organism. Recently engineers in molecular biology have figured out ways to cut and rejoin strands of DNA using enzymes. Scientists have also learned that the only way to change the cells is to attach the enzymes to highly infectious viruses. The virus inserts itself into the cell, which incorporates the enzyme into the strands of DNA. The cell starts to copy the enzyme and at times the virus, thus infecting the DNA and changing the cells of the organism (Genetic). This may sound exciting at first, but closer examination exposes that politics and money are taking priority over potential dangers. The irony is that the world already has the ability to feed the world’s population without the need of high-yielding GM foods.
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