If you want to be literal about it , the genetical engineering of food for thought began thousands of age ago . As arguing rages around the cultivation and cut-rate sale of genetically modified foods today , we sometimes blank out that the construct has been around for quite a long time . While our ancient ancestors certainly were n’t usinggene gunsto zap copiedgenesdirectly into flora cell , they did alter industrial plant genomes through cross - breeding and selective breeding to achieve the characteristics they want , such as larger size , bettertasteand dandy crop yield .
But if we ’re talking about genetic modification as it exists today , with crop being altered for pesticide impedance and squawk up with superfluous vitamin and mineral ( among other trait ) , that began in the seventies , when biologist at Stanford University figure out a way to move genes among unlike melody of bacteria . The understructure for this task had been being lay for decades , with the development ofDNA recombinationandcloningand the discovery of the bivalent - helix deoxyribonucleic acid structure . But the subject field ofagricultural biotechnologyexploded in the ' LXX and ' 80 . China introduced the first commercially cultivated genetically modified crop — a computer virus - insubordinate tobacco plant flora — in 1988 .
Many of the first genetically modify crops were developed for resistance to viruses . In 1992 , the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that genetically engineered foods were safe and thus did not have to be specially modulate . That same yr , the Flavr Savr tomato plant became the first genetically engineered food approved for sale in the United States — it was formulate to have a longer ledge life . But the Flavr Savr was a flop , mostly because of mellow production and distribution costs . inherited engineering ’s focus before long shift to herbicide tolerance and insecticide resistance , and the market exploded . Many seed are now mastermind specifically for use with certain pesticides or insecticides .
Although the World Health Organization has declared that genetically modify being ( GMOs ) are safe for human use , they continue to be controversial for many reasons — including a misgiving that they carry secret health risks , concern about environmental dangers and distrust of corporate agriculture . Resistance to GMOs is in high spirits in Europe , but in the U.S. it ’s estimated that 70 pct of processed foods check genetically engineered ingredient [ source : Scientific American ] . Without a doubt , genetically modify crops increase a farm ’s output — corn , cotton and soybean yields have fool up 20 to 30 pct , consort toone rootage . They also expect less piddle and fewer pesticide than non - GMO crops , which drives down the cost of food for thought . There ’s also tremendous potency for genetically modify crops in the develop universe , with merchandise like " gilded rice , " which curb much - need vitamin A. But because of the widespread intuition of and protest against GMOs , many of these product have yet to see the light .
