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Jan 1, 1060
Babylonians use Yeast to make beer
The date should be 6,000 BC This is the first time any humans created a food by exploitng the natural properties of another food. This could technically be called Modifying the food, as you are changing the properties. -
Jan 1, 1300
Aztecs discover algae at bottom of lake, and harvest as food source
This is an example of an intelligent society making use of a natural food source. This is the first time a society found a way to clean a natural food source for use in diets. -
Francisco Redi discovers why maggots appear on meat
First use of a controlled experiment in determining what, how, or why, something might happen. This is one of the earliest experiments, and set the stage for future experiments in food and biotechnology. -
Cross fertilisation of corn discovered
Cross fertalised corn produces higher yeild, and is more resistant to disease. This is the first natural GMO created by cross-breeding. -
Louis Pasteur discovers pasteurization while attempting to clean milk
Pasteurization allows for the cleaning of water and milk and the removal of bacteria that could damage the human body. This made milk drinkable for humans. This is considered a natural form of modification, and was one of the most widely used procedures today. -
Andrei Nikolaevitch Belozersky isolates pure DNA for the first time
The isolation of pure DNA allows for the direct modification of genes. This permits scientists to being work in earnest on creating Genetically modified Foods -
First Biotechnology Patent
US Researchers award US patent to Eli Lilly. The patent allows for the creation of human insulin in the treatment of diabetes, and is the first human-made human-taken helpful chemical. -
FDA allows the sale of the first GM tomato
Tomatos were the first Genetically modified foods to hit the market, and they were the first majorly modified tomatoes. The tomato did not take to the community very well, and dropped off the markets eventually. -
Genetically Modified Wheat is grown in Victoria
The yield of this wheat is 20% higher than average, and the wheat is drought-tolerant. This wheat can feed more people, and is a baseline for further improving our crops through the use of genetic modifications. -
Wheat and corn are drought, insect, and disease resistant and produce 100% more yield than crops from 2011
Staple products such as Corn and Wheat produce twice as much, and are drought, insect, and disease resistant.
