What is the difference between hybrid and GMO foods?

Question

What is the difference between hybrid and GMO foods?

Answer 1

Hybids are the cross between two of the same TYPE of plant or animal.  Usually farmers have hybrids (sometimes called crossbreds in animals) for the hybrid vigor.  Usually faster growth, and more disease resistance.

I breed meat goats.  I use a purebred Boer buck, and cross him to purebred dairy breeds.  The resulting hybrid offspring have extremely fast growth, and vigor.  

Often though, hybrid offspring, are not fertile.  All of the hybrid corn types (as far as I know) and hybrids like mules are sterile.

GMO foods are messed with at the genetic level.  That means that a scientist did something like insert the genes of a flounder (a fish) into strawberries, to make the strawberries more frost resistant.  GMO's are almost always crosses that could NEVER have taken place in nature.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Answer 2

Hybrids are a cross between two inbred lines in the case of corn. It gives hybrid vigor which causes increased production that we were unable to get with the old open pollinated varieties.  You can replant the seed if that is what you want to do, but you will have lost most of your hybrid vigor. It is more profitable to sell all of your corn and buy new hybrid sees.

GMO  means genetically modified organisms which means that genes from an unrelated species have been spliced into the DNA of the plant you are growing.  GMO's can be put into hybrids, as in corn, or into self pollinated varieties, as in soybeans. The fact that something is a hybrid doesn't mean it is a GMO.

Answer 3

in field corn and soybeans that you would see growing the fields in the midwest, hybrid corn is what you've seen for years and years, you can't 'resuse' the grain to plant corn next year.......... GMO stands for genetically modified, which for farmers this means that for example the soybeans we planted today have had a gene 'tweaked' so that when weeds come up in our field, we can spray 'Round up' a herbicide on the field and kill the weeds but the soybeans won't die. There are several other GMO 'specialties' but that's a good basic one that most anyone can understand. WE pay a premium to Monsanto for this 'luxury' of 'getting to buy Roundup' and thus spray it on our crops. (sarcasm intended there!) Hope that gives you general understanding. I am sure there are several other 'answerers' more knowledgable who can delve into this subject much more deeper. But that's a good basic answer, tried to keep it in all 'laymans' terms.

Answer 4

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) are organisms with manipulated genes to introduce new, or alter existing, characteristics, or produce a new protein or enzyme. Genetic modification is used to increase the yield or quality of various crops.

Hybrid "

Hybrid (hī'brĭd) is a term applied by plant and animal breeders to the offspring of a cross between two different subspecies or species, and by geneticists to the offspring of parents differing in any genetic characteristic (see genetics). The mule, the hybrid steer, and hybrid corn are examples of hybrids produced by breeders, but some animal species may cross-breed in the wild, as the gray wolf and coyote sometimes do. Hybridization between cultivars or varieties is often used in agriculture to obtain greater vigor or growth (heterosis). Hybrid vigor is achieved by crossing two inbred strains (see breeding). The first generation shows greatly increased vigor and a better yield primarily because many genes for recessive, often deleterious, traits from one parent are masked by corresponding dominant genes in the other parent.

Generally GMOs are created for a different purpose like production of certain enzymes secreted by animal organs in the plants by manipulating and inserting the genetic material of animal source in to the plant cells or animal cells. Here mainly the biochemical properties are changed because of gene addition where as in hybrid formation the inferior genes are kept out by selectiong the dominant genes and that results in super type of the animal or plant.

Hybrids do occur naturally also.  Whereas GMOs are totally human created and do not occur naturally.

Some year back a sheep "Dolly" was genetically modified to secrete the antibodies in her milk which are never found in natural sheep milk.