You may have heard a lot about food biotechnology lately. If so, you may be wondering what it is and what it means to you. This brochure provides information about food biotechnology, its safety and how it can help enhance the food you eat. Food biotechnology uses what is known about plant science and genetics to improve food and how it is produced.
Genes are responsible for traits like a person's eye color or a vegetable's taste.
Using modern biotechnology, scientists can move genes for valuable traits from one plant into another plant. This way, they can make a plant taste or look better, be more nutritious, protect itself from insects, or produce more food. For centuries, farmers have moved and changed genes to produce better food more efficiently. The process began when our ancestors settled in one place to grow food. Early farmers learned to combine plants and create new varieties of corn, soybeans, sunflowers, tomatoes, and other crops.