What is the difference between traditional breeding and recombinant DNA techniques?
For many years farmers have used traditional breeding methods to improve crops by transferring genes that code for desirable traits such as disease and insect resistance from one variety to another. Traditional breeding techniques involve mixing thousands of genes, which in addition to providing the beneficial trait, also result in the loss of other traits of that crop considered to be valuable. Significant time and effort is required to restore the other valued traits of that crop while maintaining the desired trait using traditional breeding techniques. Genetic modification permits food developers to add or enhance useful traits more specifically or remove undesirable traits. The technology permits food developers to add a desired trait in a more precise manner than traditional breeding without the loss of other beneficial characteristics since unwanted genes are not transferred.
