The concept of 'biotech' or 'biotechnology' encompasses a wide range of procedures (and history) for modifying living organisms according to human purposes — going back to domestication of animals, cultivation of plants, and "improvements" to these through breeding programs that employ artificial selection and hybridization. Modern usage also includes genetic engineering as well as cell and tissue culture technologies. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines 'biotechnology' as: "Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use."[4] In other words, biotechology can be defined as the.
