ABSTRACT
The now familiar acronym GMO refers to living organisms that have been genetically modified. In the mind of the public, this term is generally associated with commercial crops that have been manipulated in a mysterious and disturbing manner. In fact, GMOs, strictly speaking, involve all living things—including animals, bacteria, or fungi—that have been genetically modified in the laboratory following the deliberate intervention of scientific researchers. The term is rather vague because it supposes that there are, in contrast and in an infinitely more natural way, genetically conforming organisms, which we know there are not. Moreover, scientists can easily demonstrate that there are not enough inhabitants on earth for two persons to have exactly the same genetic make-up. Even identical twins, although they are close to having the same genetic make-up, are differentiated by some errors, uncorrected, that occurred in the duplication of DNA during the single mitosis that separated the first two daughter cells from which they respectively developed. Every individual represents an original recomposition of the genetic make-up of its parents. There is thus no conformity except in the overall expression, which must guarantee the permanence and continuity of the species to which the parents and descendants belong, while ensuring the individual’s constant ability to adapt to variations in environmental conditions.
