Most people have eaten genetically modified food and don't even know it.

The current debate on genetically modified plants and the history of this little-understood science was outlined last night at a faculty lecture given by plant sciences professor Vicki Chandler.

Chandler works with a team of 16 at the UA, researching gene regulation and specifically studying the more than 50,000 genes of corn.

During the last 50 years, the world has produced four times the amount of food that was grown in the first half of the century, with no increase in lands devoted to agriculture.

"There's a challenge to increase crop production without further degrading the environment," Chandler said.

One proposed solution is to grow more genetically modified food.

But genetics is not a science that is fully understood. More research about genes and their functions is key to making better genetically altered food.

The argument against genetically engineered food cites food safety issues, environmental issues, economic issues and ethical issues.

Chandler used the example of corn to explain how all plants can be genetically engineered, and have been for several years.

One engineered gene from another plant or from anything with genes can be added to the corn's genome, or its entire genetic makeup, to give it additional nutrients or kill insects that may try to eat the crop.

This altering of plant genes has been going on with plant breeding by farmers for 10,000 years, Chandler said.

Engineering of plants may have monumental effects across the world that scientists don't realize yet, some at the lecture argued. For example, genes from a modified corn crop could cross-pollinate with other crops if not regulated properly.

Some believe that it may not be possible to sufficiently regulate the science.

"We can't always rely on regulation to control everything, because regulation doesn't always work," said Natasha Winnik, a Tucsonan who attended the event.

One issue involves the long-term effects on humans of genetically engineered food. But eating food with additional genes does not cause people to develop the extra gene, Chandler said.

"We have been eating DNA since the beginning and we have not turned into tomatoes," she said.

Chandler argued that engineered food could improve human health, decrease hunger in countries where many are malnourished, and help the environment by eliminating the need for certain spray-on pesticides.

Chandler said people should not believe that organic or other plants are safer than GM products.

"It is possible to have problems, but there is extensive testing and it is also possible with plant breeding," she said. "There are a lot of nasty chemicals in the world that are organic, and some of these chemicals are used in organic farms."

The lecture, entitled "Corn, Genes and Biotechnology," brought more than 75 people to the Du Val Auditorium in the University Medical Center.