A GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) is defined as “the manipulation of an organism’s genetic make-up in order to create or enhance desirable characteristics from the same or another species” (Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2001).
While it’s true that natural genetic manipulation of crops can be traced throughout history, it wasn’t until 1980 that scientists discovered how to isolate specific DNA that could then be transferred into another organism. This differs from natural plant breeding as “GM (Genetically Modified) uses laboratory techniques to insert artificial gene units to re-programme the DNA blueprint of the plant with completely new properties.
This process would never happen in nature. The artificial gene units are created in the laboratory by joining fragments of DNA, usually derived from multiple organisms, including viruses, bacteria, plants and animals.
