Isn’t Genetic Engineering the Same as Hybridization? Haven’t we been genetically modifying plants for years?
There is much confusion between the term hybridization and genetic engineering / genetic modification. Hybridization is *not* genetic engineering—though many ag-bio corporations would have us believe that it is, in order to coerce the general public into accepting what they are doing.
Hybridization involves the combination of two related species that are able to be naturally combined.
Genetic modification involves the combination of foreign DNA from unrelated species that can not be combined without artificial manipulation (the instances of combining same-species DNA are rare and technically constitute hybridization done in a laboratory environment).
The “foreign” DNA used in genetic engineering can come from a variety of sources, including bacteria, viruses, insects, animals, and even humans.