The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) defines Agricultural biotechnology as:

Agricultural biotechnology is a collection of scientific techniques, including genetic engineering, that are used to create, improve, or modify plants, animals, and microorganisms. Using conventional techniques, such as selective breeding, scientists have been working to improve plants and animals for human benefit for hundreds of years. Modern techniques now enable scientists to move genes (and therefore desirable traits) in ways they could not before – and with greater ease and precision.