--- title: 6 Genetically Modified Foods That Changed the World description: As the FDA gets ready to vote on an application to bring the first genetically modified (GM) food animal — a salmon — to market,... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7144209/6-genetically-modified-foods-that-changed-the-world/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2010-09-20T19:50:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T11:33:45.219Z article:section: Health og:title: 6 Genetically Modified Foods That Changed the World og:description: As the FDA gets ready to vote on an application to bring the first genetically modified (GM) food animal — a salmon — to market,... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7144209/6-genetically-modified-foods-that-changed-the-world/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c9406076a47febe/698a955fc9e941399f123ce9/farmcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: A farmer sprays his cornfield in Hills, Iowa og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 6 Genetically Modified Foods That Changed the World twitter:description: As the FDA gets ready to vote on an application to bring the first genetically modified (GM) food animal — a salmon — to market,... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c9406076a47febe/698a955fc9e941399f123ce9/farmcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=640&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # 6 Genetically Modified Foods That Changed the World by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Sep 20, 2010 7:50 PM UTC  A farmer sprays his cornfield in Hills, Iowa June 16, 2008\. Conditions worsened for corn and soybean crops in the Midwest last week as already water-soaked regions were hit with more rain and flooding, the Agriculture Department said in a report on Monday. REUTERS/Frank Polich (UNITED STATES) A farmer sprays his cornfield in Hills, Iowa June 16, 2008\. Conditions worsened for corn and soybean crops in the Midwest last week as already water-soaked regions were hit with more rain and flooding, the Agriculture Department said in a report on Monday. REUTERS/Frank Polich (UNITED STATES)REUTERS by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Sep 20, 2010 7:50 PM UTC As the FDA gets ready to vote on an application to [bring the first genetically modified (GM) food animal — a salmon — to market](http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/19/frankenfish-may-soon-be-spawning-is-genetically-modified-salmon-safe/), Healthland pauses to consider the social contribution of genetically modified crops throughout history. Genetic modification occurs when scientists isolate a gene from one plant or animal and successfully introduce that gene to another plant or animal, thus changing its genetic code and function. From vitamin-enriched rice, thanks to an assist from a carrot gene, to pest-proof corn that boasts a bacterium’s genetic material, GM crops are a part of our everyday lives. more ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7144209/6-genetically-modified-foods-that-changed-the-world/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7144209/6-genetically-modified-foods-that-changed-the-world/"},"headline":"6 Genetically Modified Foods That Changed the World","datePublished":"2010-09-20T19:50:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T11:33:45.219Z","description":"As the FDA gets ready to vote on an application to bring the first genetically modified (GM) food animal — a salmon — to market,...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7144209/6-genetically-modified-foods-that-changed-the-world/","keywords":["Agriculture","FDA","GMO","Corn","rice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c9406076a47febe/698a955fc9e941399f123ce9/farmcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c9406076a47febe/698a955fc9e941399f123ce9/farmcropped.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A farmer sprays his cornfield in Hills, Iowa","caption":"A farmer sprays his cornfield in Hills, Iowa","creditText":"REUTERS","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7144209/6-genetically-modified-foods-that-changed-the-world/","name":"6 Genetically Modified Foods That Changed the World"}}]}] ```