But traditional plant breeders have never crossed apples with chickens or strawberries with fish. Genetic engineering permits scientists to manipulate genetic materials in ways that were once inconceivable. But the technology relies on methods that result in haphazard insertion of genetic elements into a plant's genetic code. This in turn may lead to disruption of complex gene interactions and unintended, potentially catastrophic, results. It is a technology that has the power to transform food and the food supply in ways not possible with traditional breeding.
Genetic engineering is very different, very powerful and worth a great deal of caution.
Currently, the process of introducing genes is done through a limited number of relatively crude methods resulting in haphazard gene placement. The inability of developers of genetically engineered crops to fully understand what genes they are inserting into a plant cell was dramatically revealed in May 2000, when Monsanto disclosed that its genetically engineered soybeans its biggest-selling genetically engineered crop contained gene fragments that the company had not intentionally inserted. The science of genetic engineering as applied to agriculture has other fundamental differences with traditional plant breeding. One is that scientists insert marker genes, frequently ones that code for antibiotic resistance, in addition to the gene with the desired trait. This process raises serious questions since these genes may exacerbate the problem of antibiotic resistance in the general population.