The application of science to the improvement of food production is known as food biotechnology. Humans began practicing biotechnology as soon as they began selective breeding of plants and animals. This science is complex in the modern era, and it includes tools like genetic modification to ensure consistent and desired results. This is a topic that interests private companies, government agencies, and educational institutions alike.
The production of better crops is one application of food biotechnology. Crops with larger fruits, seeds, and other usable components, as well as higher yields, are among them. Corn is a good example of this. Corn’s closest wild ancestor is a bland grass with few nutritional advantages. Depending on the strain, modern corn strains can grow extremely quickly, produce large and numerous ears, and provide a variety of nutritional benefits.
Food biotechnology can be used to improve yields and make harvesting easier on both plants and animals. Field crops, for example, can be bred or engineered to allow for machine harvesting, eliminating the need for farmhands to manually pick. This can lower production costs, improve worker safety, and increase yields. Animals can also be bred to mature quickly and produce large quantities of meat or milk.
Crops can also be modified to add nutrients, as some rice strains developed to combat famine have done. They include vitamins that aren’t normally found in rice to help impoverished people avoid vitamin deficiencies. To reduce losses and allow farmers to chemically treat crops for better control, food biotechnology can involve the development of pesticide, herbicide, and pest resistance in crops. In some cases, genetic engineering in a lab may be required to achieve the desired traits.
Although some food biotechnology is unrelated to food, it does involve agricultural crops. Companies in the pharmaceutical industry, for example, can use genetic engineering to force plants to produce useful compounds. Corn, for example, can be genetically modified to produce higher levels of oils and other compounds useful in industrial production. Crops used to make biofuels, for example, could be genetically modified to produce more usable material per acre.
Food biotechnology has a wide range of applications. In some areas, this science is also a source of contention. For some communities, genetic engineering of plants and animals raises ethical concerns. Some medical groups have expressed concern that the use of genetically engineered organisms may have unintended health consequences.