Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
3 benefits of genetically modified organisms
negative effects of genetically modified food
negative effects of genetically modified food
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: 3 benefits of genetically modified organisms
Genetically Modified Food
Genetically Modified Wheat
Wheat is hugely important in the world's food supply. About 600 million tonnes of wheat is produced each year. That adds up to 90 kg for every person on earth. Septoria, Fusarium and common bunt are fungal diseases that often cause problems for wheat growers. These fungal diseases can spread rapidly when conditions are mild and moist. These are just some of the things that effect wheat. The Growing of wheat also has a large impact on the environment and the cycles of matter because of the large usage of fertilizers and pesticides. Faster growth, more nutritious wheat, and better tasting food are just some of the characteristic that can be improved in genetically modified food.
Genetic engineering opens the door to new methods for managing Fusarium and other fungal diseases. Scientists have developed genetic approaches to conferring resistance to fungal diseases and are testing their effectiveness on wheat. Field trials have proved very successful in many countries, including countries in Europe, GM wheat plants are resistant to fungal infection and thereby produce grains won’t be laden with dangerous toxins.
Crops can be modified to be resistant to specific herbicides; this makes it much easier to control troublesome weeds. Farmers can simply apply the weed killer to a crop field, killing the unwanted plants and leaving the food crop unaffected. For example, GM oilseed rape the source of canola oil is resistant to one of the chemical that are widely used to control weeds. The same process can now be done with genetically modified wheat crops hence this will save time and money that has previously be needed to be spent.
One of the harder things to get right in ...
... middle of paper ...
... and efficiently through the diet. Over-Use of Herbicides
The planting of herbicide-resistant crops might encourage farmers to use weed killers more freely, since they could then be applied indiscriminately to crop fields. As a result, the excess could be carried away by rainfall to pollute rivers and other waterways. The chemicals may poison fish and other wild animals and plants, and could get into human drinking water as well.
Resistance to Herbicides
Crops can be modified to be resistant to specific herbicides, making it much easier to control troublesome weeds. Farmers can simply apply the weed killer to a crop field, killing the unwanted plants and leaving the food crop unaffected.
Better Tasting Foods
Foods can be engineered to taste better, which could encourage people to eat more healthy foods that are currently not popular because of their taste.
Crops today are thriving, and farmers can owe it all to the pesticides they use. If no pesticides were used, then insects would destroy crops, feeding off of their leaves and produce until hardly anything is left. According to corncommentary.com, Without the use of pesticides and fungicides, most fruit and vegetable crops would suffer a 50-90 percent loss due to uncontrolled insects and disease organisms. Despite what most people believe, even organic growers use pesticides on their crops that have been approved for such organic growers. Even they know that the wrath of insects and other disease organisms would destroy their plants and their profit they would have made from those plants. Also, without things such as weed killers, people would have to till the soil around their crops by hand. On large scale farms, this would take a huge amount of people to complete a task like this. The weeds would have to be pulled up, by their roots to ensure they wouldn’t grow back rapidly. On top of that, the crop would have to be routinely checked for weeds, as they grow fast and of many. The amount of money it would take to pay all the workers, and how often they would need to be paid for their work, is not owned by any farmer. Pesticides, herbicides and fungicides are what help keep our crops protected and healthy. Without them, we would be in deep
The advent of genetically engineered glyphosate-resistant crops has not only maintained but has greatly expanded Monsanto’s market share in the realm of agribusiness. Since Roundup-Ready seeds are only resistant to the broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup, Monsanto sells a season’s worth of weed killer along with every Roundup Ready seed sale (Arax and Brokaw, 1997).
...productivity. Genetically modified crops decrease the growth time which then allows the crops go to the market sooner. The increase of total yield and stress tolerance allows the farmers to grow crops in previously hostile places. This has come to be more essential as less farm land is available for increasing the population needs. The genetically modified organisms help increase the resistance to crop diseases. Creating plants with genetically-engineered resistance to diseases such as pests and herbicides initially reduces the danger of crop letdowns. The crop losses from the insect pests are not only financially distressing to farmers but also in developing countries which lead to starvation. In addition, the decrease to the elimination of pesticide use helps reduce the overall cost of bringing crops to market. This benefits both the farmer and the consumer.
Roundup Ready crops are crops that have been genetically modified to be immune to a herbicide called Roundup, produced by Monsanto. Its active ingredient is glyphosate that was patented in the 1970s. Roundup is widely used by farmers in their fields and by the general public growing vegetation on a small scale. As, Roundup Ready plants are resistant to the herbicide Roundup, farmers who plant the Roundup Ready seeds must use Roundup to prevent other weeds from growing in their fields.
Genetic engineering or genetic modification of corn refers to using molecular techniques or other similar techniques of biotechnology to add slight quantities of chromosomal material to the atomic structure and composition of corn, to protect it against infestation by pests, harm caused by herbicides or to increase its quality 4. In general, genetically modified corn is wired to resist herbicides and to produce its own insecticide. The trait in corn which tolerates herbicides is produced using tissue culture selection and a chemical called mutagen ethyl methanesulfonate 1. The trait in genetically modified corn that produces insecticide has a certain protein that is poisonous to some insect pests called Bt Toxin, hence the reason why genetically modified corn is also called Bt corn 3.
Herbicide resilient crops increase the use of herbicides, swelling costs for farmers as well as creating conservational problems, affecting inferior communities who live near large GM farms in developing countries, as well as causing pollution. Insecticide crops are constantly producing toxins when they're not even necessary, and can indiscriminately kill other insects beneficial for the environment. Continued manufacturing promises about the ability of GM crops to tackle the world's growing social problems are pure myth: there is still not a single commercial GM crop with increased yield or salt-tolerance, enhanced nutrition or other 'beneficial' traits. GM crops are confined to a handful of countries with highly developed agricultural subdivisions – where GM-cash-crops are grown to be sold on the world market for materials, feed and fuel, and not intended to feed
There are many positive views on the genetic altering of corn. Consumers always look for the shiny, beautiful food with delicious taste. By genetically engineering corn, it can become sweeter and have a better overall appearance. (16) Along with this pleasing appearance, comes its improved resistance for insects, disease, and other pests. This means that new forms of corn now possesses the ability to overcome pests and even weeds that once weakened or killed the young plants. As a result, corn can be grown where there used to be a lot of infestation. (13) In the process, this would also kill insects. Furthermore, corn has more nutritional benefits. Corn now has additional vitamins and minerals because of genetic engineering to provide greater
According to scientists, genetically engineering crops contributes to their quality. Crops that have been genetically modified to have a particular trait can decrease the amount of herbicides needed for growing that crop. Additionally, genetically modified (GM) crops can help third world countries, where malnutrition is common. For example, to help diminish nutrient deficiencies in developing countries, “plans were underway to develop a golden rice that also has increased iron content”(Whitman 2). In addition, GM crops can be modified to be able to “withstand the environmental challenges of drought, disease, and insect infestation” (Swenson 1). Growing GM crops can also result in fruits and vegetables that stay fresh for a prolonged period of time and taste better.
...ons of herbicides, we will be granted the ability to promote sustainable agriculture and preserve Earth’s natural beauty. Since the creation of synthetic chemicals in the 1940s we have progressed immensely to understand chemical drift, pollution, resistance, and the health risks associated to herbicides and their chemical compositions. Moreover, we have learned to harness the skills associated with herbicides and have used them for the world’s benefit to increase the agricultural industry, provide easier weed management in the home, maintain native lands in rangelands and forests, and manage weeds in public areas. Although herbicides receive a lot of negative opinions, they will continue to play a role in our lives in order to sustain all of these practices. Until herbicides can be replaced with something just as effective with smaller risks, they are here to stay.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a cause of continuous debate. What would be the purpose of producing genetically altered food? Many argue that GMOs could prove to be very beneficial, the use of GMOs could lead to advances in medicine, and agriculture, and they could also prevent famine in poor underdeveloped countries. Genetic modification offers many benefits: pest control, disease resistant crops, drought resistant crops, no use of insecticides, nutritional beneficial foods, and less contamination. This is only a short list of the many benefits offered by the used of GMOs. With so many benefits why are we opposed to such a miracle? (NERC 2005)
Crops that produce pesticides “contaminate nearby streams” which ends up “affecting aquatic life” (“Dangers to”). Herbicides such as glyphosate have been found in streams and rivers and may contain toxic ingredients that can kill living organisms in the water. Weeds turn into “super weeds” when they adapt to herbicides and become resistant. “Super Weeds” increase the use of herbicide and “the benefits of herbicide resistant crops are diminished” or put to waste (“Dangers to”). These genetically modified varieties can develop harmless and beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies into pests. Many birds and insects are at risk from pesticides since the chemicals and toxins contaminate the pollen they
Genetically Modified Plant's can increase crop yields, they are resistance to pests and herbicides, and GMO plants stop the use of many pesticides. But there are drawbacks to these benefits. For example, field studies conducted in India found Bt cotton demonstrated a higher crop yield, but, "By 2004, however, farmers who had been growing Bt cotton for several years found that the benefits of the crop eroded as populations of secondary insect pests, such as Mirids, increased," (Diaz and Fridovich-Kiel). The new crops tamper with the natural structure of the environment, and attract bug who could eat the plants without dying. Another way in which GMO plants can tamper with the natural environment is bugs can adapt to the new crop. Therefore, the plants create super bugs which can survive the effects of the GMO plants. As a matter of fact, another way GMO plants can corrupt the natural environment is the use of more chemicals to kill herbicides. Some GMO crops are engineered to resist certain herbicides, "However, because HRCs (Herbicide resistant crops) encourage increase application of chemicals to the soil, rather than decrease the application, they remain controversial with regard to their environmental impact" (Diaz and Fridovich-Keil). In other words, GMO's are not only unsafe towards humans, they are unsafe for the natural balance of the environment. We as humans
Australia is the destination of the world’s most extreme examples of herbicide resistance through rye grass (L. rigidum), this weed along with others are negatively effecting crop yields. Many resistant weeds exhibit cross-resistance being very diverse and adaptable to a range of herbicides through mutations and selection which can be enhanced by poor farming techniques. The number of herbicide resistant species in Australia has been on the way up since 1982 and now in the 2010s more than ten species have become resistant compared to six in the 1980s. Understanding herbicide resistance through new technologies and new understandings will help to manage weeds better and limit their affect upon grain yields with the goal to reduce weed resistance in the
Farming practices that do not use pesticides/herbicides are slowly becoming introduced bit biologically created pesticides are not nearly as productive as found in preliminary testing. Biotechnology has shown to have successfully resisted pests in plants that were destroyed by pesticides but still hasn’t proven itself as a better alternative. William Liebhardt Ph.D. is an Agricultural Specialist at the University of California, Davis and he says, “When you start spraying with pesticides, you disrupt the natural balance that exists in nature. As a result, you end up killing beneficial insects, then insects that were not a problem become problems and this happens repeatedly” requiring more and more spraying.
Genetic engineering enhances plant resistance to drought, salinity, disease, pests and herbicides. The aim is to try and enhance the growth, productivity, nutrient value, and chemical composition of the plants. Chemicals are constantly being developed or improved to enhance the competitiveness and adaptability of crops, and to kill the parasites and weeds which plague the agricultural sector. . This however is not always good as the plant and the pests then become resistant to these new chemicals defeating the purpose of it being used. The new chemicals which are produced to kill these strong pests and weeds may be more harmful to other plants and remove nutrients within the soil in turn reducing the yield of agricultural crops. The benefits of these characteristics are seen in Argentina according to Pelletier (2010) as they use glyphosphate resistant soybean which allowed the comeback of this crop, as the so...