Is this something new in agriculture?

Many scientists view the use of genetic engineering and biotechnology as the next step in the process of domestication of plants and animals that we've been following for years.

Why do they think that way?

Something Old

According to archeological evidence, people certainly were cultivating plants 5000 to 6000 years ago -- and plant breeding probably started long before this. Archeologists have found evidence of food plants from several thousand years ago. They know these are food plants because they have larger seeds or other improved edible parts that set them apart from wild plants of the same species.

The main tool early plant breeders had to work with was their ability to pick and replant only the best seeds from crop. By doing so, they were choosing plants for their genetic makeup, for a particular set of genes. Later, people learned how to cross-pollinate plants (use pollen from one plant to fertilize the flower of another — in effect choosing the parents of the seeds), another tool to improve crops. By choosing which plants to cross, people were creating gene combinations they thought would make the best food crops. By doing this, they got better food plants more quickly. They didn't have to wait for a cross to happen naturally.

At some point, people found and took advantage of crosses between two related, but separate species, or learned to make such crosses. Some plants that we've eaten for years are the product of crosses that happened long ago between two or more closely related species.

For example, for years we have grown varieties of pears, plums, cherries and grapes that started as crosses between two related species. The garden strawberries that we grow today came from work done by nineteenth century English gardeners. First, the gardeners crossed European strawberries with the "new" strawberry species found in North America. They made even greater progress toward production of large, tasty, productive strawberries when they crossed species from eastern North America (Fragaria virginiana) with strawberries from America's Pacific Coast (Fragaria chiloensis).

Crosses between species also happened with animals. Farmers for years have also crossed horses with donkeys, two related species, to create mules.

Something New

Now, with the advent of biotechnology, it's easier to move DNA from one species to another, even species that are not closely related. Scientists now can move a small number of genes from any plant or animal and move them to crop plant to produce a new variety. They don't have to rely on cross-breeding to move DNA.

Many researchers, though not all, see this as the natural consequence of having better tools to work with. They see it as essentially similar to other technological changes, such as switching our method of transportation from horses to cars and airplanes.

Others see our ability to easily cross unrelated species and wonder: Is it ethical to manipulate genes in living matter?