Copyright 2004 by http://www.organicgreens.us and Loring Windblad. This article may be freely copied and used on other web sites only if it is copied complete with all links and text intact and unchanged except for minor improvements such as misspellings and typos. Biotechnology, a '90s buzzword, popularly conjures up somewhat ominous images of gene-tinkering. Yet manipulating
genetic makeup of plants and animals to improve crop yields is far from new. Cross-breeding for desired traits such as tallness, greater milk yield or sweeter fruits, has been practiced ever since humans took up farming. However classical breeding methods have drawbacks, especially length of time required to achieve desired quality. Traditional cross-breeding means crossing all genes in two plants or animals for maybe 10, 12 or more years, to create one with desired trait(s). Also, traditional cross-breeding can only be used within individuals of same (or related) species - further limiting its ability to enhance or alter food quality.
What are benefits of biotechnology? And are they, really?
Biotechnology can dramatically reduce time and effort required to improve crops and livestock. The technique allows scientists to modify plants and animals in a more controlled way, choosing selected genes for cross-breeding instead of crossing hundreds of genes through many generations to obtain desired characteristic. The new technique allows transfer of one or a few selected gene at a time, for just one or a few desirable traits. And technique even permits genes with certain traits to be transferred from one species to another, impossible by traditional breeding methods.
The basis of modern food biotechnology depends on molecule deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA, genetic material of all living cells. It is contained in chromosomes (threadlike structures) inside cell nucleus. Unravelling molecular structure of DNA opened door to rapid advances in food biotechnology. instead of mixing all hundreds of genes within a plant or animal in back-crossing, scientists can now "select out" a particular gene (length of DNA) responsible for a particular trait. In essence, genetic manipulation means taking one or more selected genes (portions of DN) and incorporating them into genetic material of another plant or animal, bypassing need for tedious years of breeding. The gene transfer is done by a complex "cut and paste" procedure in which transcription or cutting enzymes "cut" (remove) a specific gene from one organism's DNA and "paste" or splice it into DNA of another organism.
The burgeoning benefits of food biotechnology include better tasting fruits and vegetables, disease-resistant crops requiring less pesticides and plants with improved nutrient contents, to name a few. See conclusions at end before you become overjoyed with these “improvements”.
For instance, slower-ripening tomatoes that can stay on vine longer without rotting, will allow better-tasting ripe produce to be shipped out instead of being artificially ripened. Or, for example, crookneck squash plants can be made resistant to viruses carried by insects (aphids) that often destroy them, reducing crop spoilage and decreasing need for pesticides. Growers are also producing virus-resistant varieties of potatoes, cucumbers and melons. See conclusions before you get too enamored of possible benefits seen here.
Other improvements achieved through food biotechnology are sweet potatoes resistant to "feathery virus," higher-protein rice (obtained via genes transferred from pea plants) and cooking oils with lower saturated fat contents. Corn, canola or soybean plants can now be modified to reduce their saturated fat content - thereby perhaps helping consumers to lower their blood-cholesterol levels. Gene transfer is also used in animals to make them resistant to specific diseases and to meet consumer demands for leaner meat.
