5 GM Food

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A farmer stands in a field full of low, yellow-leafed plants.

It is hard to be a farmer. Cold weather can kill your crops. Bugs can eat your crops. Weeds can hurt your crops. Your crops may need more rain than they get. Fruits and vegetables can go bad before they are sold. Some people say farmers can fix all this with GM food.

Scientists examine plants in jars in a lab full of jars on shelves.

What is GM food? All living things have DNA. DNA tells living things how to grow. These days, people can change the DNA that tells food how to grow. When people change the DNA of food, it is called GM food.

Rolling fields of crops.

Some GM food can grow in cold weather. GM food can stop bugs from eating it. GM fruits and vegetables can stay good longer. One day, GM food may be able to grow in dry land in Africa. It will feed people who do not have much food.

People march, carrying signs like "Say no to GMO." Some wear hazmat suits.

But there is a lot we do not know about GM food. Will GM companies help poor people grow food? Or do GM companies just want to get rich? Does GM food kill bugs we need, like butterflies? Does GM food make birds sick? Does GM food make people sick? We do not know. There have not been many tests on GM food.

A woman in a grocery store looks at the shelves, holding a box of pasta.

Do you think farmers should grow GM food?

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BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English - Reader 1 Copyright © 2015 by Shantel Ivits is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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