An issue that has entered the media in a lot of countries, including the United States, is the genetic engineering of food. Genetic engineering is a laboratory technique used by scientists to change the DNA of living organisms. The life, growth, and unique features of an organism depend on its DNA. Scientists have learned how to cut strands of DNA from one organism and join them with the DNA of another completely different organism. Genetic engineers believe they can improve the foods we eat by this cutting and joining of DNA from different living organisms and "gene engineers all over the world are now snipping, inserting, recombining, rearranging, editing, and programming genetic material" (Cummins). Although people that support genetic engineering claim there are benefits of it, it is, for the most part, dangerous and should be banned.

Advocates of genetically engineered food say that it not only improves the flavor and nutritional value of food, but that it also provides greater resistance to disease and insects and to bruising in fruits and vegetables. Supporters claim that by using genetic engineering, diseases in food can be detected and treated much earlier a

There are currently more than four dozen genetically engineered foods and crops being grown and sold in the United States, including soybeans, soy oil, corn, potatoes, squash, canola oil, cotton seed oil, papaya, tomatoes, and dairy products (Cummins). More often than not, the consumer has no idea that the product he/she is buying has been genetically engineered and is not as healthy and safe as he/she thinks. According to Ronnie Cummins, who works at the Campaign for Food Safety, "genetic engineering of food and fiber products is inherently unpredictable and dangerous-for humans, for animals, the environment, and for the future of sustainable and organic agriculture."

Although advocates of genetically engineered foods claim that they reduce the need for pesticides and herbicides, the opposite is actually true. It is important to understand that approximately 80 percent of genetically engineered foods have one advantage, which is that they allow the farmers to apply more herbicide than ever before (Cousens). Scientists estimate that plants genetically engineered to be herbicide-resistant will greatly increase the amount of herbicide use. It is no surprise that farmers, knowing that their crops can tolerate herbicides, will use them more liberally and "scientists estimate that herbicide-resistant crops planted around t

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