Food with Superpowers

Figure 1



Have you ever wondered what exactly is in the food you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs for short, are present in many common foods we buy at the grocery store such as; corn, beans, bread, fruits, and vegetables. In fact, about 3/4 of the food sold at grocery stores include ingredients with GMOs (3). So, next time you go to the grocery store with your parents make sure you check the food label for any odd ingredients you do not recognize.

Figure 2

What exactly are GMOs?

Genetically Modified Organisms can be anything from plants, vegetables, fruits, spices, etc. A GMO plant is made by taking the part of plant 1 and inserting that part into plant 2. The new and improved plant's seeds will have traits from both plant 1 and plant 2 (1). A seed with a GMO is like a superhero, when it grows up, it has special powers that regular seeds don't have (Figure 2). They don't taste any different from regular food, but some of the superpowers the super-seeds could have include; the power to grow really big, super-strength against bugs, or even become healthier for people to eat (3). Many of these powers also make the food cheaper for us to buy at the grocery store as well. However, not all super-seeds use their powers for good, as some GMOs turn into super-villains who can make people really sick. Most GMOs are good guys though, and word hard to make our lives better every day, yet much of their hard work goes unnoticed. The majority of people don't even know about GMOs.

What do we think about GMOs? 
 

Figure 3

Despite not much being known about GMOs, many people are wondering if we even need the help of GMOs, and don't want to risk falling victim to one of the super-villain GMO's evil schemes. On the other hand though, people might not care since GMOs are already in most of the food we eat. The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA for short, is in charge of all laws and regulations involving growing food, making food, and creating new medicine (2). The FDA will eventually have to make a decision as to whether or not GMOs will be labeled on the cans, packages, or bags at the grocery store. Some people are scared that people will be scared away by products with GMOs and believe GMOs do more good than harm, while others believe they have a right to know about the food they are buying and eating.

References

(1) Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology. (2008) How are GMOs made? Huntsville, AL. http://archive.hudsonalpha.org/education/kits/gmod/gmos-made

 (2) Food and Drug Administration. (2010). Histories of product regulation. Silver Spring, MD. http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WhatWeDo/History/ProductRegulation/ucm132818.htm

(3) Hemphill, T., Banerjee, S. (2014). Mandatory food labeling for GMOs. Regulation, 37(4), 7-10.

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=163e59b5-1cc9-489a-8b08-0e6a36ecb251%40sessionmgr115&vid=2&hid=117