Genetically Modified Organisms

you can't see or taste that your food has been genetically modified. but i beleive we can read on the packaging whether a food is genetically modified or contains genetically modified ingredients. i know it has pro's and con's on having so. one main advantage are for farmers, they can grown & harvest fast with this. but for veggies and the like, i prefer it to be organic :)

incorporation of additional genes from external source for better quality and quantity bye various modes

Hi! If we are talking crops/plants, the only commercialized GM crops are corn, soybean, cotton and canola, with the first three as the dominant crops. No, not all of them were genetically engineered to "improve nutrition". Biofortification is not genetic engineering. Mostly, the genetic engineering was done to "insert" a gene that allows these crops to be either pest resistant or weed tolerant, so that we have Bt corn (resistance against corn borer) and Ht soybean (for weed tolerance). You can find a lot of material on these online. Documents on the pros and cons abound, both factual and opinionated. Try to read up on how a GM organism is developed. It takes a much shorter time than the traditional conventional methods, but it still takes years, even until you get your first "event". An "event" is the term used to refer to a successful transformation, which takes years of work in the laboratory and the field under controlled conditions. Then, it takes much longer to go to commercialization, under the stringent regulatory framework that you have to go through. These vary across countries. Anyway, whether they are safe or not is something that largely remains to be seen, and that needs to be assessed on a case-to-case basis. E.g., what was the genetic modification for, how was it done, and how does it impact the external environment (including humans) once it is released. Unfortunately, much of the so-called evidence are sometimes based on anecdotes or conjectures. I think the challenge is in the monitoring of any released GM crops. Data is important for appropriate policy action; without data - hard, systematic evidence, we are only shooting in the dark. This is important because GM crops have also demonstrated their benefits. Do we shoot down a technology just because of fear of the unknown when it has the potential of feeding those that are chronically experiencing famine? In the Philippines, the one closest to commercialization is the GM Sinta papaya, which was developed for resistance to papaya ring spot virus. I am not an expert, I am also trying to learn, but I keep an open mind. However, I trust that our scientists also have friends and family whom they would not want to hurt intentionally with whatever monster might be. I hope this faith is not in vain. : cheers!