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Essay / History of Genetic Manipulation of Food Development
Despite the stigma surrounding GMOs, the general population is generally unaware of the science and history behind GMOs. This is not without merit, however, for how often have we heard the stories of failure associated with human intervention in nature? But regardless of the contemporary discovery of genetics and the modification of biological functions at the molecular level; GMOs are old. Human genetic manipulation of food began with the domestic cultivation of crops and animals around 10,000 BC. Selective breeding has been instrumental in achieving the best profitable result during harvesting. The selective choice of desirable traits in an entity was a direct precursor to the modern GMO concept. With the discovery of DNA in 1956 and the ability to manually edit genetics throughout the 1970s, it became possible to manipulate the genes and DNA of all foods. The first genetically modified food approved and available for human consumption was the 'Flavr Savr' tomato, into which an anti-aging gene inserted to increase shelf life was released in 1994. This was a major turning point in science and has since sparked debate over whether humans should directly influence nature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayOur ancestors, despite their limited scientific knowledge, had their own process of choosing and cultivating crops called “artificial selection”. This term was first coined by Charles Darwin, an evolutionary biologist. He described the process as one where people would choose the healthiest stock with the most bountiful crop to plant, while rejecting the less desirable stock. The first evidence of artificial breeding of a plant dates back to 7,800 BC, where archaeological evidence suggests that the people of South Asia used a breeding process for different types of wheat. Selection was not only used for plants but also for animals, with the dog being the first of its species to be mutated to achieve a desirable outcome. Around 32,000 years ago, when humans were still hunters and gatherers, animals were an essential aspect of hunting because they could detect scents and attack other game for humans to eat. Research suggests that domesticated dogs at the time were closely related to what are currently known as Chinese native dogs. The best result that historians can agree on that we achieved through artificial selection was corn, also known as maze in China. certain parts of the world. When corn was first harvested, its kernels were small and few in number, but through the selective process, the kernels gradually became larger and more abundant. Similar results have been obtained with foods such as papaya and broccoli. No one has had a problem with these methods over the centuries. What is the difference between the primitive food modification methods of the time and the modern methods we use today? Well, instead of simply selecting which plants and animals to procreate, scientists delve deeper into the molecular level to influence what happens. In 1973, Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen invented genetic engineering (GE), they were the first to add foreign DNA into another organism. This method is applied in the laboratory where the plants.