These transgene crops possess desirable characteristics in terms of flavor, color of flowers, growth rate, size of harvested products and resistance to diseases and pests.
Farmers have manipulated plants and animals through selective breeding for decades of thousands of years in order to create desired traits.
Crossbreeding mates two sexually compatible species to create a new and special variety with the desired traits of the parents.
A radioactive core is located in the center of a circular garden and raised out of the ground to radiate the surrounding crops, generating mutations within a certain radius.
This method of genetic modification works by interfering with messenger RNA to stop the synthesis of proteins, effectively silencing a gene.
Agricultural biotechnology has been used to improve the nutritional content of a variety of crops in an effort to meet the needs of an increasing population.
Weeds have proven to be an issue for farmers for thousands of years; they compete for soil nutrients, water, and sunlight and prove deadly to crops.
In order to maximize yield and prevent crop death, genes can be engineered that help to regulate cold and heat tolerance.
For example, tobacco plants have been genetically modified to be more tolerant to hot and cold conditions, with genes originally found in Carica papaya.
Quality traits include increased nutritional or dietary value, improved food processing and storage, or the elimination of toxins and allergens in crop plants.
The USDA has approved soybeans, corn, canola, sugar beets, papaya, squash, alfalfa, cotton, apples, and potatoes.
The production of Bt cotton has skyrocketed in India, with 10 million hectares planted for the first time in 2011, resulting in a 50% insecticide application reduction.
The USDA must approve the release of any new GMOs, EPA controls the regulation of insecticide, and the FDA evaluates the safety of a particular crop sent to market.
In one such article, it was concluded that Bt rice did not adversely affect digestion and did not induce horizontal gene transfer.