Genetically Engineered Crops

Throughout human history, plants have been bred selectively to promote the accumulation of desirable traits, such as increased crop yields, increased nutrition, and resistance against pests and disease. Food crops were first domesticated from naturally occurring plants over 10,000 years ago when early hunter-gatherers shifted toward agricultural cultivation. Today, the process of genetic engineering allows for the selective transfer of genetic material between unrelated organisms to produce novel, desirable phenotypes in all types of organisms. Genetically engineered crops are just one type of genetically modified organism (GMO), where [Page 178]the organism's original genetic code has been modified through the process of biotechnology. Most often, genetic engineering involves the use of molecular cloning and genetic transformation. The combination of genes from different organisms is known collectively ...