The very first commercial application of GMOs was recombinant insulin for diabetics. Followed by a slew of other drugs - GMOs now make 50% of drugs (all the protein ones). The agriculture applications came 5-10 years later as plants were harder to engineer than microbes.
Other examples: The enzymes in washing powders are generally produced by GM bacteria, too, together with the chymosin needed for cheese production.
There used to be a GM-tomato called FLAVR SAVR about 15 years ago, which had direct benefits to end customers = the tomatoes stayed fresh longer. Public opposition out of fear killed it (also a good lesson: don't give flashy, technical names to food).
I'd like to see the citation on that (there are no GM tomatoes on the market), I'd also like to add that the 'watery', huge, flavour-poor tomatoes you often get in Europe have been created by traditional non-GM breeding: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/2...
Shockingly, I was alive in the mid-90s :) It's also a given that any GMO tomato would be a hybrid, a.k.a. a cardboard-esque rubber ball. A little experience and common sense can go a long way in determining something's flavor (lol)!
"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."
