GMO History
- Humans have been
doing genetic engineering since before all the new technology was created.
Farmers would save seeds from the crops they thought had the best
characteristics and replant them, eventually having the “ideal crop” planted,
this is known as selective breeding. Later in the 1900s, Gregor Mendel’s
genetic theory gave scientists the idea to manipulate and improve plant
species. A plant of one variety is crossed with another plant to produce the
desired characteristics; this is called “classic selection”. In 1953, James
Watson and Francis Crick discovered the three-dimensional double helix
structure of DNA. This discovery later lead to scientists identifying and
splitting genes from one kind of organisms into the DNA of another. The U.S.
Food and Drug Administration approved the first genetically engineered drug,
Genentech’s Humulin in 1982. Five years later, the first field tests of
genetically engineered crops, tobacco and tomatoes, are conducted in the United
States. In 1992 the FDA declares that genetically engineered foods are “not
inherently dangerous” and do not require special regulation. Dolly the sheep
was the first cloned animal introduced into the world in 1996. A year later, EC
Novel Foods Regulation came into effect requiring a safety assessment for GM
foods before they go on sale. In 1998, the first GM labeling rules were
introduced to provide consumers with information regarding the use of GM
ingredients in food. Now we are in present day and countless foods have been
genetically modified from bananas to mustard. Since the earliest of mankind,
humans have been genetically modifying plants; now we have many advances in
technology which makes it easier.