Scientists continue to find new ways to insert genes for specific traits into plant and animal DNA. A field of promise—and a subject of debate—genetic engineering is changing the food we eat and the world we live in.Just what are genetically engineered foods, and who is eating them? What do we know about their benefits—and their risks? What effect might engineered plants have on the environment and on agricultural practices around the world? Can they help feed and preserve the health of the Earth"s burgeoning population?In the past decade or so, the biotech plants that go into these processed foods have leaped from hothouse oddities to crops planted on a massive scale—on 130 million acres in 13 countries, among them Argentina, Canada, China, South Africa, Australia, Germany, and Spain. On U. S. farmland, acreage planted with genetically engineered crops jumped nearly 25-fold from 3. 6 million acres in 1996 to 88. 2 million acres in 2001. More than 50 different "designer" crops have passed through a federal review process, and about a hundred more are undergoing field trials. [Key Words]burgeon v．迅速成长、迅速发展oddity n．奇异，古怪