What Exactly ARE Bioengineered Foods? Think of it like this: plant breeders have been tinkering with crops for centuries, cross-pollinating and selecting the best traits to get tastier, hardier plants. Bioengineering is just a more precise, modern version of that. Scientists can take a specific gene from one organism (like a bacterium that helps fight pests) and insert it into another (like a corn plant) to give it a new, desired trait. It's like giving a plant a superpower!