• RealAssHistoryHours [he/him,they/them]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    BREEDING PLANTS IS NOT GMO. Genetic modification is a targeted manipulation of the genome. Equating traditional breeding to genetic engineering is honestly one of the most irritating misrepresentations what biotechnology actually does.

    • thisismyrealname [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      by definition, plant breeding is targeted manipulation of the genome, it's just not as precise or direct as modern genetic engineering techniques

      • RealAssHistoryHours [he/him,they/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        It's not a targeted manipulation of the genome. It's a coincidental recombination and inheritance of parental traits. It's a targeted manipulation of the phenotypes. You could argue with marker assisted selection that we are now manipulating genomes, but that's a relatively recent development. Certainly not one humans have been doing since the dawn of agriculture.