Genetically engineered

History

The first field trials of genetically engineered plants occurred in France and the US in 1986, and tobacco plants were engineered to be resistant to herbicides. The People's Republic of China was the first country to commercialise transgenic plants, introducing a virus-resistant tobacco in 1992. In 1994, Calgene received official approval to commercially release the first genetically modified food, the Flavr Savr, a tomato engineered to have a longer shelf life. In 1994, the European Union approved tobacco engineered to be resistant to the herbicide bromoxynil, making it the first genetically engineered crop commercialised in Europe. In 1995, Bt potato was approved safe by the Environmental Protection Agency, after having been approved by the FDA, making it the first pesticide-producing crop to be approved in the US. In 2009, 11 transgenic crops were grown commercially in 25 countries, the largest of which by area grown were the United States, Brazil, Argentina, India, Canada, People's Republic of China, Paraguay, and South Africa.