What’s Really in Your Shopping Basket
Genetic engineering in our shopping basket? Yes – and much more often than we think. Whether it’s pasta, bread or vegetables: many of the everyday products we consume come from mutation breeding, which involves altering the genome and is considered safe. It’s high time to dispel some common myths.
Thursday, December 4, 2025
In brief
- Historical practice: Many everyday foods such as pasta, bread, or carrots originate from decades of breeding using mutagenesis.
- Physical radiation: Mutagenesis began nearly 100 years ago with the use of X-rays and gamma rays to induce random mutations.
- Chemical processes: In the 1950s, chemical agents were introduced to generate genetic changes even more efficiently.
- Legal classification: According to Prof. Beat Keller (University of Zurich) and the European Court of Justice, plants bred through conventional mutagenesis also fall under the definition of genetic engineering.
- Organic farming: Many of the crop varieties developed back then are still cultivated today – including in organic farming.
Whether pasta, bread, or carrots – genetic engineering is in far more products than we generally assume. It has long since arrived even on organic shelves. High time to remove a few rotten eggs from the shopping basket. Caution: consume at your own risk – the content of the video may contain traces of genetic engineering.
Many of our foods are the result of decades of plant breeding. Bigger, tastier, longer shelf life, less susceptible to disease, and more resilient to heat and moisture – the demands placed on our crops are high. It’s no surprise that breeding methods have continually evolved.
A true quantum leap came with mutagenesis, which began almost 100 years ago when X-rays and gamma rays were first used to induce untargeted, random mutations in barley and maize. In the 1950s, chemical mutagens were added, enabling an even more efficient creation of mutations. During the 1960s and 1970s, mutagenesis became widespread worldwide, and many of the varieties still cultivated today originated from this phase of mutagenic breeding – this applies to organic varieties as well.
So next time you go shopping, chances are high that you’ll be putting vegetables or wheat products into your basket that were bred using classical mutagenesis – and thus products that, according to Prof. Beat Keller, one of the most renowned experts in wheat breeding, also fall under the definition of genetic engineering. But see for yourself:
Interview with Prof. Beat Keller, Molecular Biologist at the University of Zurich
Blindspot article
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Keywords: Genetic engineering · Mutagenesis · Plant breeding · Organic farming · Wheat breeding · Beat Keller · Nutrition · Agriculture
Is genetic engineering present in organic products?
Yes, many crop varieties grown in organic farming originate from technical mutagenesis, which according to breeding experts and applicable case law is classified as a form of genetic engineering.
What is mutagenesis in plant breeding?
Mutagenesis refers to inducing genetic changes in plants through irradiation with X-rays and gamma rays or through the use of chemical agents.
How long has mutagenesis been used in agriculture?
The use of radiation to induce mutations began nearly 100 years ago; chemical mutation triggers were introduced in the 1950s.
Does mutagenesis fall under the term genetic engineering?
According to the scientific classification by molecular biologist Prof. Beat Keller (University of Zurich) and the European Court of Justice, conventional mutagenesis also falls under the definition of genetic engineering.
Why were mutagenesis techniques developed?
To systematically advance crops, making them higher-yielding, tastier, longer-lasting, and more resilient against diseases, heat, and moisture.
Which plants were bred using mutagenesis?
Barley and maize, as well as many common wheat and vegetable varieties today, were created through mutagenic breeding.
Sources
https://www.transgen.de/lexikon/1727.mutagenese.html
Eco Spezial: Genetic Engineering? Yes, of course. (07.08.2025 – ORF ON)
https://swiss-food.ch/artikel/gentechnik-schon-lange-auf-schweizer-tellern
https://swiss-food.ch/artikel/landwirtschaft-zwischen-wissenschaft-und-marketing
https://swiss-food.ch/glossar/genom-editierung
Gentechnik-Kennzeichnung erhalten: Unternehmen schreiben Brandbrief an EU-Parlamentarier
Organic farming will never be truly sustainable until it embraces gene editing
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