Chapter One
1.1
From Primitive Selection to Genetic
Modification, Ten Thousand Years
of Plant Breeding
Nigel G. Halford
Crop Performance and Improvement, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden,
Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom
Introduction
In the mid-1990s plant biotechnology burst onto the scene in world agriculture,
beginning a second 'green revolution' and precipitating one of the great public debates
of our time. Approximately a decade later, this book describes the impact of genetically
modified (GM) crops on world agriculture, recent advances in the technology and the
areas of research from which the next generation of GM crops is likely to emerge, as well
as addresses the issues of safety and regulation that have dogged the technology,
particularly in Europe.
This chapter defines exactly what GM crops are (in other words, what distinguishes
them from other crops) and describes the GM crops that are currently in commercial use ... read full excerpt from Plant Biotechnology: Current and Future Applications of Genetically Modified Crops ebook
