Food and Feed generally come from plants and animals which have been grown and bred by humans for several thousand years. Over time, these plants and animals have undergone substantial genetic changes as those with the most desirable characteristics for food and feed were chosen for breeding the next generation of food feed

The desirable characteristics were caused by naturally occurring variations in the genetic make-up of those plants and animals. In recent times, it has become possible to modify the genetic material of living cells and organisms using techniques of modern biotechnology called gene technology. The genetic characteristics are being modified artificially in order to give them a new property (a plant's resistance to a disease or insect, a plant's tolerance of a herbicide, improvement of a food's quality or nutritional value, increased crop productivity, etc.).

Organisms, such as plants and animals, whose genetic material (DNA) has been altered in such a way are called genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Food and feed which contain or consist of such GMOs, or are produced from GMOs, are called genetically modified (GM) food or feed.