Genetically Modified Crops: Promise and Controversy

Genetic engineering soon reached agriculture. In 1994 the Flavr Savr tomato, designed to ripen without softening quickly, became the first genetically modified food approved for sale in the United States, though it soon left the market. From 1996 farmers planted crops engineered to resist insects or tolerate herbicides, especially soybeans, maize and cotton.

Supporters argue that GM crops can raise yields, reduce some pesticide use and improve nutrition; Golden Rice, engineered to provide vitamin A, was described in 2000 and approved for cultivation in the Philippines in 2021, though a Philippine court halted its commercial planting in 2024.

A 2016 report by the US National Academies of Sciences found no substantiated evidence that approved GM foods were less safe to eat than conventional ones. Critics raise concerns about corporate control of seeds, herbicide-resistant weeds, biodiversity and labelling. Regulation differs widely, with the European Union adopting a more precautionary approach than the United States.