Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically Modified Foods

Genetic modification of food sources has been used for centuries whether it has been using yeast to make bread rise or using rennet to make cheese. Today genetically modified food has become extremely advanced with technologists able to enhance or even delete particular characteristics in food It is even possible to create crops that are resistant to herbicides, which are cheaper to produce and are healthier, all by changing a bit of DNA.

How is it modified?

To produce genetically modified canola, the DNA sequence is first changed.
The involvement of enzymes, plasmids and the methods of cutting and splicing are vital in the manipulation of DNA. Researchers use restriction enzymes (which break DNA at specific sections) and DNA ligase (which join fragments of DNA together) to create new DNA sequences. Plasmids are used as a way of moving genes between organisms.

Researchers used the restriction enzymes to cut canola DNA into fragments. Each fragme...