About 80 percent of cheese is made using a genetically engineered enzyme called chymosin produced by microbes. This enzyme is chemically identical to the enzyme rennet, which is isolated from the contents of the forestomach of an unweaned calf. It is easier to purify, more active and less expensive to produce because microbes are more prolific, more productive and cheaper to keep than calves. Today, we are surrounded by genetically modified food and drink. For most of the 20th century, farmers' primary focus has been on the technical aspects of farming, reducing unit costs and improving output.
Biotechnology offers contributions to further decrease unit costs and to improve farmers' margins.
The explosion of biotech crops planted in the United States and Canada in 1996 and the exponential growth in acreage in the past four years and around the world make the case that the biotech revolution has begun. After more than a decade of research and development, the first whole food product derived from modern biotechnology arrived on the market in 1994. Since then, agriculturists have become more enticed with biotech. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that approximately 44 percent of soybeans and 36 percent of all corn planted in the United States in 1998 were grown from seeds enhanced with biotechnology. Many more are waiting in the wings to be approved.