Genetically modified crops are appearing on the farms of the United States more and more every day, even though consumers may not know it. The good news is that these crops are planted because of their benefits to people. For example, according to the American Medical Association (AMA), "More than 40 transgenic crop varieties have been cleared through the federal review process with enhanced agronomic and/or nutritional characteristics or one or more features of pest (insect and viruses) and tolerance to herbicides." The AMA goes on to report that no long-term effects have been detected to date (2). Nevertheless, because there is a lack of unbiased information that is provided to the public, there are still some people that are skeptical of this new science, and believe it is dangerous. However, the public must be informed that genetic engineering has given agriculture many technological advances, and still offers many more to come. Agricultural genetic engineering research could provide many benefits for our future because genetically modified organisms (GMO) would offer a surplus yield to help ease world hunger, would promote a pesticide/herbicide-free environment, and would lead to higher-quality foods.
             Many people have interchanged the terms agricultural biotechnology and genetic engineering without knowing the difference. As stated by the United States Department of Agricultural (USDA) agricultural biotechnology is the "collection of scientific techniques, including genetic engineering, that is used to create, improve, or modify plants, animals, and microorganisms" (1). This explains that agricultural biotechnology is the big picture that includes many different subcategories. One of these subcategories is genetic engineering; this is the altering or redesigning of the genetic make-up of plants, animals, and microorganisms. Genetic engineering allows scientists to shut the bad genes down and to turn the genes they like up. Sha...