Hybrid vs GMO....What's the Difference?

 

Hybrid......GMO.....is there any difference? What do those terms really mean? 

I recently had someone tell me that they only wanted brown eggs in their carton because "brown eggs came from non-genetically modified (GMO) chickens." While the reason for this article isn't to demean that person for their assumptions, I would hope to clear up any confusion regarding issues with what is GMO and hybrid, and what those differences are. 

To start, the eggs that we produce at Happy Hen Farms come from a mixed flock of hybrid and high-performance pure-breed hens. Similarly, eggs that come from mainstream sources are from hybrid and pure-breed hens. 

Hybrids, whether animals or plants, are a result of natural (key word) breeding methods that occur between two or more different varieties of animals or plants within the same species. For example, our hens that lay brown eggs, are the result of a pure-bred rooster that is bred to another pure-bred hen of another chicken breed. The purpose of hybridization is to produce offspring that is genetically superior than both of the parents, whether that be different physical appearances or higher production, or a multitude of traits. Similarly, pure-bred plants or animals can be selectively bred within their specific breed or variety in order to achieve better performance or appearance traits. The difference between pure-bred and hybrid is that a hybrid cannot reproduce offspring with the same traits (hybrids are either infertile or produce offspring with deformities or inferior traits). A selectively bred pure-bred plant or animal has the ability to retain, and even improve, the genetics that the parent's had. 

On the other side of the spectrum, there is GMO, or genetically modified organisms. GMO's can be pure-bred or hybrid animals and plants (pretty much just plants at this point) that have genetic material (ie DNA) inserted into them for the purpose of achieving traits in the offspring that could never have occurred through natural breeding practices. 

For example, roughly 92% of American corn is GMO. Those corn plants are GMO-ed to be resistant to chemicals like Round Up, produce their own fungicide/insecticide, drought resistance, ect.... 

The good news is, animals, like the hens that lay your eggs, have not been genetically tampered with in a way that involves the DNA of another species. While there have been experiments with genetically modifying animals, they are just that, experiments, at this point. What science may decide to do in the future, I don't know, but I do know that consumers have power in their spending dollars to sway industrial decisions for the good and for the bad. The question then becomes, how do you use that power? 

List of GMO crops in the U.S: 

Corn

Cotton

Soybean

Canola

Potato

Apple 

Papaya

Summer Squash

Alfalfa

Sugar Beet