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done by four primary methods, i.e. selective breeding, mutagenesis, RNA interference, transgenics. Selective breeding has been in use since quite a long time and is the oldest method of genetic modification. It is therefore not included in the GMO food category. In selective breeding, a specific targeted characteristic is achieved by introducing and breeding two strains of plants, whereas in mutagenesis, chemicals and radiation are used to mutate the organisms. The resulting offsprings with the targeted traits are kept and further bred. Even the process of mutagenesis is excluded from the GMO food category. However, the last two methods, RNA interference and transgenics are counted among the genetic engineering types. As said by the FDA, certain crops go through genetic engineering to enhance crop yield, make them resistant to insect damage and immune to the common plant diseases as well as make them capable of having high nutritional value. Such genetically modified crops are commonly known by the name of GMO crops. According to Nitya Jacob, crop scientist at Oxford College of Emory University in Georgia, GMO crops present a lot of promise in solving agricultural issues. As per the statistics by the FDA, cotton, corn and soybeans are among the most commonly grown crops in the U.S. and almost 93 percent of soybeans and 88 percent of corn crops are genetically modified. Genetically modified GMO crops like cotton can resist insects thereby eliminating the need to spray pesticides on them that could have possibly become the cause of groundwater and environment contamination. In spite of this, the widespread usage and cultivation of GMO crops has stirred up some controversies. Jacob says that GMOs can have a negative impact on the environment. There is a possibility that pollen from GMO crops can drift to the fields of non-GMO crops and weed populations leading to non-GMOs acquiring the traits of GMO crops due to cross-pollination. Now it has become tough for individual and small-scale farmers after several large biotechnology firms started to monopolize the GMO crop industry. So instead of working away from them, farmers can choose to work along with biotech firms in order to reap the benefits of increased crop yields and reduced pesticide costs. Genetically Modifying Animals and Humans Often livestock are selectively bred to enhance growth rate, muscle mass and disease resistance. Taking chicken for example, certain lines of chicken raised for meat are known to grow faster than they used to back in the 1960s. Presently, chicken are not genetically engineered and therefore are not put under the category of GMO food products. According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, scientists have been modifying lab animals to research on ways biotechnology can help in treating human disease and repair tissue damage. One of the latest forms of this technology is called CRISPR that is based on the ability of the bacterial immune system to use CRISPR regions and Cas9 enzymes to deactivate foreign DNA that enters a bacterial cell. CRISPR technology is being used to develop cures for cancer and to find and edit single pieces of DNA that may lead to disease in the future. Genetic engineering can also find application in stem cell therapy as well as in regenerating tissue damaged from a stroke or heart attack. Though the technology is at our disposal, pursuing genetic modification experiments on human is inherently problematic and controversial. In addition to that, the risks associated with that are not known. SR MARCH 2019 25