The ancient Sumerians brewed alcoholic beverages and prepared bakery products with the aid of microorganisms, namely bacteria and yeast, and manipulated the genetics of their livestock through selective mating. Modern biotechnology is a far more precise and efficient version of millennia-old agricultural practices, and its benefits may soon reduce the devastating effects of drought, famine and malnutrition around the world. Traditionally, biotechnology was limited to mixing genetic material through the reproductive process, haphazardly combining countless genes in hopes of getting one desired trait. But because the DNA of all life is made of the same four building blocks, called nucleotides, today's scientists can put the genes that benefit one organism directly into the DNA of another. For example, certain bacterial genes that produce proteins that are toxic to insects but are safe for humans can be transferred to specific plants that are used to prevent massive crop loss and reduce the need for insecticides.
Biotechnology can make agriculture less environmentally intrusive.
Modern agriculture is intensive and input-oriented. Large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides are used to generate acceptable yields per unit of land. However, significant amounts of these chemicals are expensive and can impact natural resources. Through biotechnology, scientists have developed crop varieties that are pest resistant, thereby reducing the use of pesticides in some cases. Other biotechnology crops absorb more nutrients from the soil, some are drought resistant, and some reduce the need for tillage and irrigation that can result in the loss of topsoil.