Cloned Food

Also known as “vegetative propagation,” plant cloning has long been practiced in fruit and vegetable production and household beautification. Many vines and common houseplants, for instance, are quickly and easily cloned by snipping off a branch or twig and depositing the severed part in soil or water. Roots will soon emerge from the stem and a “new” plant whose genetic makeup is identical to the old plant will take hold. In fact, it is the Greek word to describe this process (klon: to branch or twig) that gives us the word clone. Since the advent of human agriculture, then, some of our staple fruits and vegetables—such as those listed above—have been cultivated primarily through cloning.