Genetic modification (or transgenic modification) is the technology of deliberately transplanting a genetic fragment from one organism to another in order to modify its character, so that the target organism receives a characteristic from the other. A gene is an element of genetic information transmitted from an individual to its offspring through sexual or asexual reproduction. The offspring inherit identifiable features from the parents through genes. A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is a biological organism whose genetic material has been deliberately modified.

Since the birth of the first genetically modified plant in 1983, GM technology has been widely used in agricultural production. Transgenic plants have spread rapidly throughout the world. According to a report from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), the area of transgenic plants amounted to 170 million hectares in 27 countries in 2013.

Is that a good thing, or a disaster for sustainable agriculture? Are GMOs safe for humans? The argument about that is continuing all over the world. We keep hearing various voices for or against, ranging from governments to non-governmental organisations, from scientists to ordinary people.

The technology of transgenesis gives us the possibility of producing tomatoes with a gene from dairy cows, easy to transport and keep for a long time, the ability to produce wheat with genes from spiders, from which it is possible to prepare long, thin noodles, the power to produce chickens with four or more legs or wings according to the needs and imagination of humans, because many people, for example in China, prefer the meat from legs and wings. Do you want or dare to consume such food? Are GMOs destroying or improving sustainable agriculture? Should we continue or put a stop to the spread of GMOs? That is the subject of the lecture by the Chinese agronomist Trezoro Huang Yinbao.