Shaping our food – an overview of crop and livestock breeding

Shaping our food – an overview of crop and livestock breeding

Editor: Anna Lehrman
Authors: Anna Lehrman, Sevasti Chatzopoulou, Li Feng, Flavio Forabosco, Elisabeth Jonas, Konstantinos Karantininis, Fredrik Levander, Alessandro Nicolia, Lotta Rydhmer, Helena Röcklinsberg, Per Sandin, Jens Sundström, and Li-Hua Zhu

You may not have thought about why tomatoes look the way they do, why our pets and farm animals are so calm and friendly, or how it is possible to get a watermelon without any seeds in it. Although the breeding of plants and livestock have shaped more or less everything we eat, few people know about the scientific achievements and the tedious work that results in the food we see on our plates every day.

• Why breed crops & animals?
• How is it done?
• Ethical questions
• What GMOs are available?
• What does the law say?
• Who benefits from the GM-technology?

With this book an overview is given of the background of domestication and breeding, from the beginning of farming more than 10,000 years ago to the molecular work of today.

It presents the basics of the structures and functions of genes, describe why and how different breeding methods are applied to crops and livestock, and give some insight into legislation surrounding the use of biotechnology in breeding in the EU and in Sweden.

It also provides an overview of different products produced through genetic modification, a summary of the economic impact of such crops, and some ethical issues related to breeding in general and to genetic modification in particular.

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