Agriculture
has come a long ways in the last 20 years. Corn never use to produce 250 bushels
an acre and soybeans never use to produce 70 bushels an acre either. The reason
why crops can produce this much yield is with the help of GMO (Genetically
Modified Organisms).
PRO’s
There
are many people that like GMO hybrid crops and there are others that don’t like
it. The GMO have been in the news recently for the pros and cons. The world’s
population is at 6 billion people right now and is suppose to double in 50
years. It’s going to take GMO to support this growing issue. To make crops more
efficient, scientist produced crops that is disease and pest resistant. They
also have made crops more tolerant to herbicides, cold temperatures, drought,
and salinity. All this traits help produce better quantity and quality crops. These
traits prevent the stressors from nature by reducing as much competition
against the plant as possible. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA), there are over 40 plant varieties that have completed
all of the federal requirements for commercialization, but not all are products
are available in supermarkets. Scientist has not only enhanced crops, but they
also have produced GMO fruits, vegetables, and vegetable oils. There are thirteen
countries that use GMO crops commercially, and the United States is the
majority leader. In 2000 68% of all the crops grown in American were
genetically engineered. Corn and soybeans make up 82% of those crops grown. In 1996
the number of GMO crops increased from 4.3 million acres to an outrageous 109
million acres in 2000. This number is still growing to this day. GMO crop’s
makes it easier for all farmers to use. Seeds come with insecticide and
fungicide on them and you can spray pesticides directly onto the crops without
any damages.
CON’s
What
most people are worried about GMO is the safety and the environmental concerns.
With B.T corn, people are concerned about the potential dangers to non targeted
insects that might eat the pollen of the corn. The pollen is toxic to insect
larvae. This worries environmentalist that some insects could perish. There is
also the worry of targeted insects becoming resistant to the hybrid crops. They
are also nervous of gene transfer to non targeted species. This would be a
major problem. Crop plants engineered for herbicide tolerance and weeds will
cross breed, resulting in the transfer of the herbicide resistance genes from
the crops into the weeds. One of the biggest concerns is human health. The risk
of introducing foreign genes into food plants may have an unexpected and
negative impact on human health. There has been studies that shown organ malfunctions
in some people.
Could
you imagine the world without GMO crops? The world would starve. Remember that
the population is increasing and the amount of farm land is not. Hybrid crops
give the world potential to solve world hunger and preserve the environment by
reducing the reliance on pesticides. On the whole, with the exception of
possible allergenicity, scientists believe that GM foods do not present a risk
to human health.
