Genetically Modified Foods: Overview: Purpose of Genetic Engineering

Early farmers noticed that some characteristics in their crops and animals were more desirable than others. With a careful choice of breeding stock, those traits could be reinforced or improved in successive generations. But the process was slow. Yields of grain or milk were not fully apparent until the season was well along or the cattle had reached maturity and were bred again. Later, plant and animal breeders crossed and recrossed to obtain “improved” varieties, taking years to establish a new line. Although a spectacular new flower or high-yielding grain could make a large amount of money for a breeder when released, the cost of the process could make overall profits small. A method of accelerating the process would have been welcomed. Enter genetic engineering, in which traditional breeding methods are short-circuited and the time required for a new crop variety to be marketed is reduced. With traditional methods a new seed type can take ten years or more to reach consumers. With direct gene transfer and selection this time can be halved.