Genetically Modified Foods

Introduction
What are Genetically Modified foods?
Although "biotechnology" and "genetic modification" commonly are used interchangeably, GM is a special set of technologies that alter the genetic makeup of organisms such as animals, plants, or bacteria. Biotechnology, a more general term, refers to using organisms or their components, such as enzymes, to make products that include wine, cheese,beer, and yogurt. Combining genes from different organisms is known as recombinant DNA technology, and the resulting organism is said to be "genetically modified," "genetically engineered," or "transgenic." GM products include medicines and vaccines, foods and food ingredients, feeds, and fibers.
Locating genes for important traits such as those conferring insect resistance or desired nutrientsis one of the most limiting steps in the process. However, genome sequencing and discovery programs for hundreds of organisms are generating detailed maps along with data-analyzing technologies to understand and use them. In 2006, 252 million acres of transgenic crops were planted in 22 countries by 10.3 million farmers. The majority of these crops were herbicide and insect resistant soybeans,corn, cotton, canola, and alfalfa. Other crops grown commercially or field-tested are a sweet potato resistant to a virus that could decimate most of the African harvest, rice with increased iron and vitamins that may alleviate chronic malnutrition in Asian countries, and a variety of plants able to survive weather extremes.
On the horizon are bananas that produce human vaccines against infectiousdiseases such as hepatitis B; fish that mature more quickly, cows that are resistant to mad cow disease, fruit and nut trees that yield years earlier, and plants that produce new plastics with unique properties. Although growth is expected to plateau in industrialized nations, it is increasing in developing countries. The next decade will see exponential progress in GM product development asresearchers gain increasing and unprecedented access to genomic resources that are applicable to organisms beyond the scope of individual projects.
Technologies for genetically modifying foods offer dramatic promise for meeting some of the 21st Century's greatest challenges. Like all new technologies, they also pose some risks, both known and unknown. Controversies surrounding GM foods and cropscommonly focus on human and environmental safety, labeling and consumer choice, intellectual property rights, ethics, food security, poverty reduction, and environmental conservation.

Transgenosis technology is a kind of modern technology in molecular biology, which is used to transfer genes from one species into another so as to reconstruct the genetic materials of the receiving species for theimprovement of its properties, quality of nutrition in line with the need of human beings. In other words, transgenic food are those directly made from or processed from the species such as animals, plants and microorganisms. Which can produce substances possessing highly effective expressions. The basic principle of transgenosis is easy to understand. It bears some similarity with commonhybridization. The difference only lies in that hybridization transfers the whole chain of genes, while transgenosis only selects the most useful section of genes to transfer. In this sense, transgenosis has a higher standard in selectivity.
Categories of Transgenic Food:
In order to enhance the nutritious value of agricultural products and produce food faster and more effectively, scientists are adoptingtransgenosis technology to alter genetic data and reassemble new genes of species. The technology helps to obtain new transgenic food continuously and meanwhile enables food to be of higher nutrition, stronger preservability, and sounder resistibility to illnesses, insect pest and herbicide. 
* The First Category: Transgenic Plant Food Product
There are various kinds of transgenic plant...