That history might be a little unsettling to some, but these are conventional breeding methods, not GE.

FORBES: "Genetically Engineered" In California: A Food Label We Don't Need

But it is odd, at first sight, that genetic modification in a laboratory should weaken a plant any more than traditional breeding methods do.

ECONOMIST: Genetically modified weaklings | The

The main advantage of using genetic markers is that it speeds up old-fashioned breeding methods, because you no longer have to wait for the tree to grow up to see if it has the desired traits.

ECONOMIST: Genetic engineering: Gone is the forest primeval | The

Critics of this work say that modern genetic engineering is not an extension of the "traditional" methods of breeding.

BBC: The power of genes

But, more significantly, the genetically modified varieties tended to do worse than those produced by traditional methods of plant breeding.

ECONOMIST: GM crop plants are less weed-like than weedy