The
Humboldt County Ballot Initiative to Ban Genetically Modified Organisms
Mark
S. Wilson, Humboldt State University, Department of Biology
What is a GMO?
GMO stands for Genetically
Modified Organism. GMO usually refers to transgenic organisms. Transgenic organisms are created by
taking a gene from one species and putting it into another species.
Traditional plant breeding,
and what has come to be known as conventional plant breeding, includes a number
of methods of genetically modifying organisms that significantly alter their
genetic makeup. These include chemical mutagenesis, hybridization, and changing
the chromosome number of plants (polyploidization). None of the plants created in these ways are considered to
be GMOs, and these plants are grown by organic as well as conventional farmers.
It is less clear what
category another group of plants should be in... plants that have been modified
by removing a gene. For example, a soybean has been
developed that does not make a protein which many people are allergic to,
with the goal of decreasing allergic reactions to soybeans. It was made using
the same methods used for creating transgenic organisms, but no new gene was
introduced.
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