"GMO" stands for Genetically Modified Organisms. This means that an organism has been changed by injecting it with material from another species. The new genes could be added by attaching it to a virus before injecting. Some ingredients to look out for that fall under this category are corn syrup, soy lecithin, sugar, vegetable oil and cottonseed oil. Other words for GMO's are GE (genetically engineered), HT (herbicide tolerant) and Bt crops. Several examples of genetically modified plants include corn, soybeans, cotton, sugar beets, canola, alfalfa, papaya, sweet potato and kiwi.
Herbicicide Tolerant crops (aka Roundup Ready) are genetically engineered to handle herbicide treatments which would normally kill them. Bt crops are modified to produce toxins that will kill off insects.
Other countries have restrictions on this process because it is unnatural and not proven to be safe.
Animals are also being modified. Farmers inject with new genes until they produce the ideal, flawless species. Pigs, cows and fish such as salmon, carp and tilapia are some of the animals subjected to this.
I remember, about a year ago, I was telling my grandma about this lemon pepper tilapia that I had made. She told me that she doesn't trust it because this fish didn't exist when she was younger. Now, learning all about GMO's, I've been lead to believe that tilapia is a man made fish established through genetic modification and when ideal traits were reached, they renamed it. Knowing this makes me never want to eat tilapia again.
All the hard work these plants and animals have put in to evolve over millions of years and man has to go and change it. Why can't we appreciate the natural product?
The best way to avoid this is to buy organic which have strict laws ensuring your getting the healthiest, most natural product.
Resources: organicitsworthit.org, wikipedia.org
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