Using gene editing techniques to solve old farming problems ++ANIMATION++
287 views · Published 20 November 2018 · 1:44 · Indexed 1 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(15 Nov 2018) LEADIN: The altering of food and animals by adding and subtracting genetic traits in a lab sounds like science fiction. Different than GMO's, gene- edited food could be the wave of the future. STORYLINE: Gene-edited food could be coming soon to a supermarket near you. What is it and how is it different from GMOs? First, let's rewind. Farmers have been cultivating crops and animals for centuries through breeding. Then came genetically modified organisms. That's when genes are taken from one organism and inserted into another. Most of the corn and soy grown in the U.S. are GMOs. Bt-corn is a type of corn that has a gene from a bacterium that produces a protein that's toxic to certain insects so that farmers don't have to spray as much pesticide. Most scientists say GMO foods are safe to eat, but some consumers aren't too sure. Gene editing is different. Instead of adding foreign DNA, it is like molecular scissors that can tweak or remove an existing gene in a plant or animal to make food more nutritious and easier to produce. Take mushrooms that can go bad quickly. Researchers can cut out a DNA snippet that produces the enzyme that makes them brown. Scientists can also edit the DNA of dairy cows to make them hornless. They do this by snipping out part of a dairy cow's gene for growing horns and inserting DNA instructions from prized beef cattle that naturally lack horns. That would prevent injury and avoid a common but painful horn removal that animal welfare advocates criticize. Now the question is whether consumers will find gene-edited food more digestible than GMOs. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/4315965fb9163987d2f0afdacc9694a2
