List six factors for which the variety improvement of crops is aimed at.

Genetic engineering provides a quicker and more precise way to achieve the same goal, in one generation rather than twenty. Genetically Modified (GM) crops offer improved yields, enhanced nutritional value, longer shelf life, and resistance to drought, frost, or insect pests.

Examples of GM crops include corn varieties containing a gene for a bacterial pesticide that kills larval pests, and soybeans with an inserted gene that renders them resistant to weed-killers such as Roundup. “Nutritionally enhanced” GM crops under development include varieties of wheat free of gluten, a major cause of food allergy; vegetables with higher vitamin E content to help fight heart disease; and “golden rice” genetically engineered to contain vitamin A and iron so as to prevent common nutritional deficiencies in developing countries.