Scientists take genes from one type of plant and infuse them with another, the overall result is a mix between the two. Usually the product also has many of the nutrients of both parents. This process has been going on for years, but only recently have scientists introduced these products to the American public. The most common crops being altered are corn, soybean, and tomato but many others are being developed. (Nelson 40-48). .
A major part of the debate is the issue of ethical beliefs and media perception. Some Catholics believe that altering food is ethically wrong. They believe that the process in an unacceptable intervention in God's creation violation barriers of the natural world. Others believe that it can be used to help many people as long as it is strongly regulated for food safety and environmental risk.(SRTP). The opposition has been fueled by media reports that only reported half of the story. In 1999, reports emerged saying that pollen from genetically modified corn had been killing monarch caterpillars. The media jumped on this story and incited public outrage over the killing of the monarch butterfly which everyone loves. A report came out later however, proving that the caterpillars did not die as a result of eating contaminated pollen, but the media decided not to run with that story.(Anderson 22-25). This in a sense could be construed as a form of propaganda; the media only airs what they want the public to hear. .
Opponents of genetically modified (GM) foods believe that until the problems with food allergens in these new types of foods are fixed, these types of foods should not be made available to the public. They argue that by adding foreign genes to plants, there is the possibility of creating food allergens that have never been seen before, which could make these altered foods potentially fatal. Food allergens are proteins, but only a few of these proteins have been discovered.