GMOs, or genetically modified organisms are organisms whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is the modification of an organism's phenotype by altering its genetic make-up. Genetic engineering is primarily performed by simple mating or gene recombination.
When a gene from one organism is purposely moved to improve or change another organism in a laboratory, the result is a genetically modified organism (GMO). It is also sometimes called "transgenic" for transfer of genes.
There are different ways of moving genes to produce desirable traits. For both plants and animals, one of the more traditional ways is through selective breeding. For example, a plant with a desired trait is chosen and bred to produce more plants with the desirable trait. More recently with the advancement of technology is another technique. This technique is applied in the laboratory where genes that express the desired trait is physically moved or added to a new plant to enhance the trait in that plant. Plants produced with this technology are transgenic. Often, this process is performed on crops to produce insect or herbicide resistant plants, they are referred to as Genetically Modified Crops (GM crops). GMOS are toxic to the environment because they are linked to pesticides and herbicides. They then go onto the plants and then kill the bees that pollinate crops. Also since the plants are GMOS, that means less nectar is produced for pollinators. The DNA modification takes away essential nutrients that the plants need to grow which will damage the plants which will damage the food chain.
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