Genetically Modified (GM) Plants and Grain

Plants have DNA in their cells just like we do. Using recombinant techniques, a gene is isolated from one organism and spliced into the genome of a receptor cell, which is now genetically modified. Insulin is produced this way.

An example would be if you took a gene for cold tolerance out of an alpine plant and put it into a domestic strawberry chromosome or genome, to impart cold tolerance. This is done at a cellular level. Each cell divides and replicates, the daughter cells now carry the new splice as if it is part of it's own genome, a hitchhiker if you like. Cells replicate and eventually form an organism, each cell of which will carry the "foreign" splice of DNA.

There are dangers and unintended consequences of this gene splicing. for example, pollen from a GM plant may be allergenic. While this doesn't sound particularly important, just think how dangerous allergies like nut allergies can be. Also, people are concerned about weird things happening like for example, herbicide resistant genes may cross with noxious weeds producing a really monster weed that would be herbicide resistant. Things like this.

I did run across the study referred to where the rats were shown to have reduced reproductive fitness. however, it was quickly noted that the gene spliced in was already known to be detrimental to reproduction and not to be the end product of this research.

The development of GM strains is difficult and costly and the manufacturers, best known is Monsanto, have been allowed to patent these things. Lawsuits about patents have gotten into the realm of the ridiculous. For example, some farmers' crops have been shown to have Monsanto GM patented genes and they have been sued for patent infringement. As Alice said, it keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.

Now, remember that GM foods and grains are going through digestion and the nucleic acids which are the building blocks of the DNA are broken down to A,C,G and Ts and salvaged in the cells to make other cell products. (There's nothing to "leach.") I think that the model folks have in mind is toxic chemical pollution. Toxic chemicals might interfere at the cellular level or even be toxic to the liver or kidneys which is trying to clear the body of these substances.