Next+to+A+Crop+Can+Be+Improved

=**A Crop Can Be Improved by Inserting a Gene from Another Species**= ====Over the past couple of decades, advances in genetic egineering have led to profound developments in agriculture. For centuries, farmers have improved crops and domestic animals by breeding for desirable traits. The resulting organisms are called **transgenic organisms** because they contain one or more genes from another species. They are also known as //genetically modified organisms//, GMOs for short.====

====Transgenic bacteria have been developed to mass-produce a variety of valuable proteins, including bovine growth hormone (BGH). When this hormone is injected into dairy or beef cattle, it raises milk production or improves weight gain. It has passed all safety tests so far and is now being used extensively in dairy herds.====

====There is a heated debate about genetically engineered agricultural products. Some scientists argue that producing transgenic organisms is only an extension of traditional crossbreeding, the procedure that has given us such new and interesting products such as the tangelo. The FDA has held that if the result of genetic engineering is not significantly different from a product already on the market, testing is not required.====

====On the other side of the argument are scientists who believe that creating transgenic organisms is radically different from hybridizing closely related species of plants or animals. There is concern for "superweeds." Transgenic crops might also pass their new genes to close relatives in neighboring wild areas, creating offspring that would be difficult to control.====