Feeding the Future: The Rise of the Bioengineered Crop
🪝 The Hook
With the global population climbing and extreme weather becoming the new normal, how will we keep dinner plates full? The answer is quietly transforming fields worldwide, driving a market projected to pass $38 billion this year.
📜 History & Origin
While humans have cross-bred plants for thousands of years, the modern era of Bioengineered Crops (often called Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs) truly began in the late 20th century. The first commercially sold bioengineered food was the Flavr Savr tomato in 1994, designed to resist browning and stay fresh longer. By 1996, large-scale commercial planting of genetically modified soybeans and corn took off, radically changing the agricultural landscape.
