March 26, 2013

The unpopular facts about GMOs

What is the big fuss about GMO crops, anyway?

Are GMOs good or bad? That question just doesn’t make sense.

Direct genetic modification is a technology, not a product. 

Think of the difference between a typewriter and a computer. They’re two different technologies that can be used to write a book. But it makes not sense to ask, “Are books written on computers good or bad?”

Using genetic modification let’s us “copy and paste” a specific gene that makes it better.

How does this work in corn? To make Bt corn, researchers flipped one gene from a naturally occurring soil bacteria and pasted it in traditional corn to make caterpillars stop eating it. Simple. We get a corn that is unchanged and we get a better corn.

Check out more with this inFact video with Brian Dunning:

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