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Expert response from Community Manager
Moderator for GMOAnswers.com
Friday, 29/05/2015 15:30
When the term “GMO” is used to describe food crops, it is used to describe a plant developed through a specific process in which a copy of a desired gene or section of genetic material from one plant or organism is placed in another plant. The United States starting using this breading technique to create crops that have greater resistance to harmful insects, pests and disease. These crops are created to achieve a desired trait, such as resistance to an insect or improvement to a ripening process, in order to better meet a customer’s market need. The only GMOs commercially available in the U.S. are the following eight crops: soybeans, corn (field and sweet), papaya, canola, cotton, alfalfa, sugar beets and summer squash. In addition, some GMOs that are being created today are focused on improving other aspects such as drought tolerance or an enhanced nutritional profile.
The first GM food crop was the Flavr Savr tomato in 1994. As explained in our “Explore the Basics” section, “It was created to be less perishable. Weak harvests and costly shipping methods combined to create an unprofitable tomato. As a result, the Flavr Savr tomato was commercialized for only three years.”
Hope Hart, technical leader for product safety at Syngenta, explains why GM foods are used in this response. Here is an excerpt:
“Farmers need every tool available to them to increase crop production using limited natural resources to meet the growing demand for food, feed, fiber and fuel as the global population rises. Plant biotechnology can improve crop productivity and yields, and improve the quality of crops, while reducing the environmental impact of their production, making them more sustainable. Further, biotechnology is helping improve nutrition and other consumer-desired characteristics in some crops, and improving certain manufacturing processes in others.”
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