Eli5: If every living thing has DNA in its cells, and DNA contains the instructions for functions of life, why do our bodies NOT interact with the DNA that we consume from eating plants and animals?
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The various ways that ingested genetic material actually affects us is an area of active study and obviously not a topic for ELI5.
The simple (and mostly correct) explanation is that the proteins and RNA and DNA in food is digested by the acid and enzymes of the stomach into smaller pieces. The leftover slurry doesn’t have full genomes or anything like that.
Your cells also have mechanisms to destroy foreign DNA and RNA, mostly for viral defense.
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