How does this product differ from its non-modified counterpart?

Agricultural products that have been genetically modified to date include soybeans, corn, cottonseed oil, canola oil, sugar beets, alfalfa, squash and papaya. Each of these crops has had a gene or genes modified in order to improve their agricultural value. Typically the modification involves adding a gene from another organism which may provide enhanced resistance to disease or pests or improved nutritional quality. The most common modifications involve inserting a gene from bacteria into the crop allowing it to produce proteins which protect it against specific insect pests. This is known as Bt technology as the inserted bacterial gene codes for an insecticidal protein produced by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Other modifications include adding genes to increase herbicide tolerance so that farmers can use certain herbicides without harming their crop.

Research various agricultural products currently on the market which have been genetically modified. What specifically has been modified with the product?

With soybeans, genetic engineering has resulted in enhanced pest resistance and improved nutritional content such as increased levels of Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils while reducing trans fats found naturally in vegetable oils like soybean oil. Genetically modified soybean varieties are now widely grown across North America with over 90% of all US soybeans being genetically modified for one purpose or another according to USDA estimates for 2017/2018 harvest year. Similarly with corn many different varieties are available depending on what traits are desired including both pest resistant options (e.g., Bt) and herbicide tolerant varieties (e.g., Roundup Ready). In cotton seed oil genetic engineering has been used to introduce an enzyme which increases the amount of healthy monounsaturated fat at the expense of unhealthy saturated fat thus improving its nutritional profile compared with conventional cotton seeds which contain higher amounts of saturated fats but lower amounts of healthier monounsaturated fats per serving size than GM varieties do…. Cotton seed oil also contains higher levels vitamin E than other vegetable oils making it more desirable nutritionally speaking due to Vitamin E’s role in protecting against heart disease and cancer among other health benefits…

In terms of sugar beets genetic modifications have been used extensively with around 95% of all sugar beet acreage planted being glyphosate resistant due largely to its ability to tolerate weed killers such as Roundup thereby saving considerable time spent weeding fields manually versus non-GMO varieties where weeds must be pulled individually leaving considerable room for error… Alfalfa too has seen extensive use with GM versions accounting for approximately 80% market share due mainly again to its weed control properties provided by Roundup Ready technology… Squash too has been under investigation by Monsanto Corporation since 2006 though none commercially viable versions have made it through trials yet however research is ongoing… Finally Papaya was the first fruit variety modified using biotechnology when ringspot virus infected Hawaiian Papayas threatened production back in 1998 destroying entire plantations previously devoted exclusively towards growing them until Dr Dennis Gonsalves developed a virus resistant strain using recombinant DNA techniques enabling production yields previously thought impossible at least without chemical intervention… Today GMO Papayas account for over 75 percent market share U S domestic markets alone providing an alternative food source otherwise unavailable except via importation prior their introduction into agriculture there.. .

In conclusion agricultural products that have been genetically modified present numerous advantages over their unmodified counterparts both economically competitively environmentally speaking but also nutritionally offering consumers added benefits not achievable any other way currently given existing technologies limitations prevalent today thanks promise biotechnologies afford us hope brighter healthier future world wide stakeholders alike wise governments should continue investing effort support further R D efforts help unlock potential proven strategies offer cost effective solutions addressing global food security concerns future generations come