One of the most disturbing, though commonly overlooked properties of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is their documented ability totransfer genetic information horizontally into those who consume them.
This process actually occurs quite commonly in nature, especially among bacteria, which do not reproduce sexually and therefore have evolved a number of mechanisms through which to transfer genetic information directly between one another directly. Viruses themselves can essentially be described as 'pieces of genetic information in search of chromosomes,' their very "infectivity" being examples of horizontal gene transfer between species. The whole field of genetic engineering, in fact, would not exist were it not for the science and technology that harnesses and/or co-opts processes of horizontal gene transfer.
Technically speaking, horizontal gene transfer (also known as "lateral gene transfer") is the process by which an organism incorporates genetic material from another organism without being the offspring of that organism. Vertical transfer, on the other hand, occurs when an organism receives genetic material from its ancestor, e.g., its parent or a species from which it has evolved....read more>>>...
