1) The American includes a high amount of wheat products. The height of Americans has been historically a point of comment - long before sophisticated chemical and other bio-engineering introduced 'genetically engineered' anything. In WWI, the American troops arriving in England evoked many comments about 'those tall Yankee boys'. They did, in fact, tower over most other Europeans. In southern China where rice prevails as the main dietary ingredient, people are, generally speaking, fairly short. Move to the north, where wheat predominates, and you find Chinese who are comparably much taller.
2) Almost all the vegetables we eat today are 'genetically modified, or 'genetically engineered'. Corn (actually 'maize') started out many centuries ago as a grass. Through centuries of selective cross-pollination, the native populations of the Americas 'genetically engineered' that grass into a plant that produces enormous seeds (the kernels we love to eat). From one species of cabbage comes literally dozens of variants, (brussel sprouts, red cabbage, green cabbage, etc) because of selective pollination and farming. Pick any vegetable, and find dozens if not hundreds of varieties that man has engineered to suit his farming technology or climate or ease of production - any of a hundred reasons.
3) Almost all of the meat and poultry and their products come from animals which have been 'genetically engineered' through, again, selective breeding and sometimes better nutrition by introducing various different nutrients into the diets of those animals.
These naturally 'genetically engineered' food animals far outnumber the admittedly misguided and sometimes dangerous of artificially-induced genetic mutations - and of course care should be taken when choosing any food product. The term 'genetically engineered', though, is particularly mis-used and over-used as a criterion for identifying questionable manipulation of our food products.
There's much more, but to avoid 'genetically engineered' would mean starving to death.
One risk of genetically engineered food is that foods produced from crops that have been engineered to produce a substance that kills insects could have negative health effects on people. Though some believe that is not a possibility, others believe is it not only possible, but probable.
A lot of people are against genetically modified crops being grown because of potential negative health effects. The effects of altering crops genetically are also not known due to the process being relatively new.
It depends on how they are genetically engineered. The possibilities are almost endless (given time to research the idea) but there are 2 genetic modifications that seem to be most common. Making a crop easier to grow in harsher climates, or causing the crop to grow faster. There are also drawbacks, such as many genetically engineered crops having lower nutritional value, but scientists are constantly working on overcomming these problems, and most of the genetically engineered crops used today are free of these problems.
It depends on how they are genetically engineered. The possibilities are almost endless (given time to research the idea) but there are 2 genetic modifications that seem to be most common. Making a crop easier to grow in harsher climates, or causing the crop to grow faster. There are also drawbacks, such as many genetically engineered crops having lower nutritional value, but scientists are constantly working on overcomming these problems, and most of the genetically engineered crops used today are free of these problems.
Genetically engineered crops, like corn and soybeans, are examples of biotechnology.
Genetically engineered crops, like corn and soybeans, are examples of biotechnology.
The dangers would be that the genetically engineered plants and crops can become harmful to the environment and society.
They will help the environment by allowing farmers to use fewer pesticides.
Some food staples, such as rice, contain more nutrients.
lower pesticide
By far the characteristic that is most often genetically engineered into crop plants is resistance to herbicides, with engineering crops to produce a substance that kills insects into the plant itself a close second.
GM crops are produced much like other crops, except that many that are grown have been genetically engineered to be resistant to herbicides or to produce an insecticide in the plant itself.