Food for Thought: The Current State of Genetically Modified Foods

Though some may consider genetic engineering a recent development, humanity has  been altering the DNA of our crops for millennia. As farmers historically chose plants with the highest yields and the largest fruits, those phenotypes were propagated during the next planting season. Over time, this has led to the drastically domesticated crops we rely on today.

However, the recent introduction of new technologies has allowed scientists to replicate this selection much more quickly than before, creating favorable hybrids and crops with specific traits. We call these offshoots Genetically Modified Crops, or GMCs, and they have distinct advantages and drawbacks.

Antibiotic Resistance: Dust from cattle feed yards carries antibiotics, bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes.

The emergence of drug resistant bacteria is a growing concern for global public health. Antibiotic resistance occurs when an antibiotic has lost its ability to effectively control or kill bacterial growth.  Every time you take an antibiotic prescribed by your doctor, the sensitive bacteria in your body are killed, but resistant strains may be left to grow and multiply.  These resistant bacteria survive, reproduce, and exchange sections of genetic material with other bacteria so that new generations inherit antibiotic resistant genes. Resistance leads to an increasing number of bacterial infections and treatment failure for even the most common pathogens.  For example, some strains of tuberculosis are now resistant to all available microbial drugs.