The Birth of Modern Genetic Modification (3)

1982. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that GMOs could be patented, which allowed the Exxon Oil Company to begin using an oil-eating microorganism. In 1983, Monsanto scientists were some of the first to genetically modify plants, and five years later, they tested their first genetically engineered crops.

1988. Scientists inserted genes into soybeans, ultimately creating what would become the most common GMO: glyphosate-tolerant soybeans. Making a crop that was resistant to herbicide made it much easier, and cheaper, for farmers to control weeds while producing high yields. Soon, other GMO seeds were developed — including potato, cotton, rice, sugar beets, sugarcane, and tomatoes — with the intention of making these crops resistant to insects, antibiotics, diseases, herbicides, and pesticides

Commercial sale of genetically modified foods began in 1994, when Calgene first marketed its unsuccessful Flavr Savr delayed-ripening tomato.

In 1980, General Electric obtained the patent bacteria took the other step. In this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that scientists from General Electric could patent bacteria that were genetically engineered to break down crude oil to help with oil spill mitigation. This ruling legally prepare a good way for big companies to develop their schemes over GMOs. This ruling also paved the way for companies to rapidly develop GMO tools that could both be useful and profitable.

In 1987, the first experiments of food crops, using recombinant DNA, and had been genetically modified occurred. Calgene’s Flavr Savr tomato was the first crop that have been produced after five years of extensive health and environmental testing and it be approved for commercial production by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So, Flavr Savr a genetically modified tomato, was the first commercially grown genetically engineered food to be granted a license for human consumption. The Californian Company Calgene was the producer of this crop and submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1992.

In 1994, Monsanto introduced a form of bovine growth hormone (BGH) that was manufactured by genetically modified bacteria. Farmers could inject the hormone directly into dairy cattle to increase their milk production.

These techniques opened the floodgates for genetic engineering, and lead to the development of Bt, Roundup Ready and other genetically modified crops that will be covered in the next story.

So, the first pesticide-producing crop produced in 1995 after a long testing and was approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Bt corn was then approved after a year, and now the majority of corn in the U.S. has the Bt toxin gene. Monsanto, was the first company engineered these chemicals in 1996 to help producing glyphosate-resistant crops like variety of soybean. Now glyphosate-resistant technology has been applied to many other crops, including corn and sugar beets.