Ever heard of fruits that are seedless? "Organic" vegetables? And of course, the famous Flavr Savr tomatoes that stay firm and ripe after harvesting, providing a longer shelf life for the tomatoes? All these are examples of foods that have been through Genetic Modification.

Genetically Modified (GM) foods are, in short, foods that are modified by geneticists in order to create a product with a desired trait and eliminate any unwanted traits. For example, a geneticist can change the genetics of a cabbage, so as to make it more resistant to insects and diseases. Farmers can then make use of this advantage by not using any pesticides and claiming the cabbage as "organic".

This actually gives a false sense of security for consumers as they are made to believe that the vegetables that they are buying is pesticide free, and therefore labeled " organic", when in reality they are actually products of genetic engineering.

The big question is, are GM foods safe? Recent studies have shown that GM foods pose a risk to those that have allergies while also increasing the chance of contracting cancer. The impact of GM foods on health is currently not fully understood, therefore there are those who are of the opinion that the studies were not to tip off the public of the negative possibilities but to bring down the market of GM foods.

So the next time you see "organic" carrots or seedless grapes, think twice before you put it into your shopping basket. The carrots you buy now might cause a serious illness in the later part of your life.

Or... you could just side the disbelievers and avoid those ever-annoying grapes with seeds.