A half-century of “wide cross” hybridizations, which involve the movement of genes from one species or genus to another, has given rise to plants – including everyday varieties of corn, oats, pumpkin, wheat, black currants, tomatoes, and potatoes – that do not and could not exist in nature. Indeed, with the exception of wild berries, wild game, wild mushrooms, and fish and shellfish, virtually everything in North American and European diets has been genetically improved in some way.
半个世纪以来的“远缘”杂交——将某个种或属的基因转移到另一个种或属中——产生了自然界不存在或不可能产生的物种，我们日常所吃的玉米、燕麦、南瓜、小麦、黑醋粟、番茄和土豆都有这样的品种。事实上，除了野生浆果、野生动物、野生菌类以及鱼类和贝类，北美和欧洲餐桌上几乎所有东西都通过某种方式进行过基因改造。