A lot of people think we could be headed for trouble by
tampering with Mother Nature and producing genetically altered food. But those
who (1) say it’s no more unnatural than traditional
selective breeding, to say nothing about (2) and chemical
pesticides. Most Canadians regularly eat bio-engineered food.
Anyone who consumes cheese, potatoes, tomatoes, (3) is
taking in genetically modified (GM) food. In addition, (4)
contain GM ingredients. In fact, around 65% of the food we get from the shops
has some genetically modified component. GM food does not (5)
in Canada, so most of us don’t know we are eating it. Some of the
items that have (6) GM material might surprise you. They
include chocolate bars, baby food, margarine, (7) , ice
cream, (8) , cereals, and cookies.
(9) have used GM foods for centuries; if they hadn’t, we’d
probably still be (10) . They’ve refined the foods we eat
through selective crossbreeding, combining different types of wheat, and
(11) . Today, however, genetic engineering is no longer just
a case of mixing different varieties of (12) . Now, genes
from completely different life forms are being combined—fish genes into tomatoes
to (13) , for example. Such "tampering with
Nature" makes a lot of people anxious. They wonder if the foods that come out of
genetic modification are (14) . Scientists say they are
completely safe; GM is just a way of (15) to make it
possible for them to survive without the use of pesticides and to (16)
. But the (17) that scientists said that nuclear
power and the toxic insecticide DDT were also completely harmless.
Supporters of GM foods (18) . They say producing GM
food is a move in the right direction, that it will (19) ,
the environment, and the economy. They are convinced it will solve the world’s
hunger problems, lead to a drop in pesticide and herbicide use, and result in
(20) .