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We Already Genetically Modify Pets And Plants. Are Humans Next?

From glow-in-the-dark fish to fragrant mosses, genetic modification presents countless possibilities.
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WorldPost Video Editor

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Genetically modified organisms have been controversial for over a decade. When many people think about GMOs, they conjure images of sinister money-hungry corporations dangerously altering the food that we give to our children. But the reality is nowhere near this simple.

As with any revolutionary technology, there are concerns about going too far or making irreversible mistakes. Careful research and oversight are crucial. But with proper regulation, genetic modification presents countless possibilities to better our world and potentially even ourselves. In this short documentary, The WorldPost and host Aaron Pomerantz reveal some of the groundbreaking ways that we can utilize this technology.

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Before You Go

Can These GMO Foods Save the World?
Drought-Tolerant Corn(01 of05)
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This one has some obvious benefits: researches have been able to engineer a breed of corn that can survive long periods of water deprivation. A couple different varieties are on the market and already in use, and the one sold by Monsanto, called DroughtGard, added the same gene that bacteria use to continue growing in cold environments. Photo Credit: iStockPhoto/ ThinkstockClick Here to see More of the GMO Foods That Could Save the World
Blight-Resistant Potatoes(02 of05)
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Late blight has long been the bane of potato farmers’ existence; the fungus-like pathogen was responsible for the Irish potato harvest being decimated in the 1800s. Ireland’s agricultural agency, Teagasc, has been hard at work developing a potato that’s been genetically modified to resist blight, and once it’s tested and approved, it could do away with the plague that destroys about a fifth of the world’s annual potato harvest. Photo Credit: Liquidlibrary/ Thinkstock
Virus-Resistant Papaya(03 of05)
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Papaya ringspot virus has historically seriously lowered yields of papaya crops, and throughout the 1990s researchers worked to develop a cultivar that was resistant to it. In 1999 the first virus-resistant papayas were grown in Hawaii (they elicit an immune-like response to the virus), and today they’re approved for consumption in both the U.S. and Canada. Photo Credit: iStockPhoto/ ThinkstockClick Here to see More of the GMO Foods That Could Save the World
Insect-Resistant Eggplant(04 of05)
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The Bt bacteria has also been effectively worked into the DNA of eggplant, which sees up to 40 percent of yearly crop loss due to a pest called the “fruit and shoot borer.” The natural insecticide has been found to be non-toxic to fish, chickens, rabbits, goats, rats, and cattle.Photo Credit: iStockPhoto/ Thinkstock
Virus-Resistant Squash(05 of05)
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The second GE crop to be cleared by U.S. regulators (after papaya), a breed of squash called Freedom II was engineered to be resistant to two viruses. Today six varieties of virus-resistant squash and zucchini are being sold in the U.S. Click Here to see More of the GMO Foods That Could Save the WorldPhoto Credit: iStockPhoto/ Thinkstock
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