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Humans have been modifying their food for thousands of years. Until the 20th century, this had to be done by breeding desirable characteristics into crops. This method requires plenty of effort and is rather imprecise. Genetic modification speeds up the process by identifying the genes that produce these selected traits and introducing them into the desired crop. The first wave of GM crops, grown in the 1990s, has largely given benefits to farmers – crops that are resistant to insect attack or is tolerant to certain herbicides. An example of this is BT corn which contains a gene (Bacillus thuringiensis) that makes it produce a natural insecticide in its pollen. Genetically engineering tolerance to weed killers in crops allows farmers to spray their fields with herbicides without damaging their crop. This had resulted in significantly less insecticide and herbicide being used thus helping farmers to reduce costs. Besides, GM crops are able to withstand harsh environments. In the first field trial of a GM organism in 1986, Frostban which contains genetically modified bacteria that stops the growth of other bacteria that catalyze the formation of ice was sprayed ove