Breeding Aims

Herbicide resistance

Worldwide, herbicide resistant crops are the most widely grown transgenic plants. More than 70 percent of the GM plants grown today are herbicide resistant.
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Pest resistance

Crops genetically engineered for pest resistance are enabling a shift away from our reliance on broad-spectrum insecticides. This could provide a safer, more biologically sustainable way of managing insect pests. Experience has shown that crop yields can be maintained or increased while decreasing spraying.
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Disease resistance

Plant diseases are a major agricultural problem, with losses sometimes reaching 90 percent. Virus infections can be especially difficult to prevent, and treatments for plant viral infections do not exist.
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Altered composition

With the advent of genetic engineering, food enhancement and processing could take on a new dimension. Instead of adding new ingredients to foods in the factory, beneficial substances can now be put into the crops themselves. Both industry and consumers have much to gain from crops like "designer oilseeds" or starch crops custom tailored to specific applications.
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Pharming

Transgenic plants can be used to produce an array of substances including pharmaceuticals, silk proteins, biodegradable plastics, or industrial enzymes. Such crops are only intended for industrial use and are not to be used as food.
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Elimination of pollutants

Genetic engineering has given plants the ability to clean-up soils polluted with heavy metals or petroleum products. Such strategies can offer cheap and sustainable solutions to dangerous environmental problems.
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