It can by said that genetic engineering started primitively as soon as soon as agriculture began.  Farmers kept the seeds from their most prosperous plants and planted them the next season, gradually improving the crop.  Since then things have changed, but the essential objective remains the same: higher profit.

The use of insecticides has been under debate for years.  Scientists attempted to solve this problem by using genetic engineering and focussing on corn.  By inserting a protein, called Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, the scientists were able to create crops that protect themselves against pests.  Tests done on corn using Bt were very promising, killing the European Corn Borers that can ruin 5% of the crop each.  Twenty percent of the farms in the United States were using Bt and other built in insecticides as of 1998.  Concern over the increasing resistance to such pesticides by insects has lead to a great increase in research in this particular genetic field.