I know most people here already understand what GMO's are, and what they are not.

But if you have some friends that don't understand, this may help.

Genetically modified or engineered food (GM or GMO) has become a hot topic of conversation over the last couple of years. Over the last year, there has been a huge push for the FDA to require food labels on any product containing genetically modified ingredients. As a matter of fact, March 27, 2012 marked the record-breaking one million signatures in favor of GE labeling, which is more signatures than any other food petition previously submitted to the FDA. More than 40 countries worldwide, including all of Europe, already have GE labeling. You have probably seen an article or news program on the issue recently, but you may not understand what all the fuss is about.

Most people don’t understand that GMO food products are big money. Over the last 10 years, the agriculture biotech industry has spent over a half billion dollars in lobbying to make sure the consumer is kept in the dark.

GE crops became commercially available in the United States in 1996 and currently constitute the vast majority of corn, cotton and soybean crops grown in the country. More recently, biotechnology firms have developed genetically engineered animals, including food animals like hogs and salmon. Today, some estimates indicate over 90% of all soy and corn grown in the U.S. is done with genetically modified seeds.

So what does GMO really mean?

GMO stands for genetically modified organism, which refers to any food product that has been altered at the gene level. Genetically modified foods are also frequently described as genetically engineered, genetically altered or genetically manipulated. For hundreds of years farmers crossbred their plants, but crossbreeding is far different than the process GMO crops undergo. Essentially in GMO, crop genes are turned on/off, removed or altered, in an attempt to make the plant more resistant to pests or chemicals used during the pesticide spraying process. The main concern when it comes to consumer health is that scientists are unsure of how these genetic changes will affect our short- or long-term health.

We are barely scratching the surface when it comes to understanding how agriculture genetics work and how they affect humans. We are just beginning to understand that our DNA can be damaged or made healthy by what we consume in the form of food. It was once thought your DNA was static (it didn’t change), but we now understand that it can be greatly affected by environmental factors, as well as by what we eat.

http://brinkoffreedom.net/health-and-wellness/understanding-gmos-an...