Genetic Engineering Should Not Be Encouraged
Naseer Awan
Genetic Engineering should not be encouraged
The population of the world is rapidly increasing every year and it is predicted that it will be doubled in the next fifty years. Ensuring an adequate food supply for this growing population is going to be a major challenge for the world in the coming years. Genetic engineers claim that genetically modified foods have numerous characteristics which can meet this global demand. Although genetic engineering technology in agriculture can help increase crop production, genetically modified food should be strictly controlled because it would have a detrimental effect on the environment as well as human health.
First of all, advocates of genetically modified food claim that genetic engineering could decrease the rate of environmental pollution by reducing the use of pesticides and herbicides. However, there is no reliable evidence proving that the rate of pollution has actually decreased since the introduction of genetically modified crops. Instead, it is shown that they may only have the potential to reduce the environmental pollution. “In fact, a genetically engineered crop that tolerates herbicides such as Roundup-Ready soybeans produced by Monsanto would actually increase pollution,” Halford states (2003). This is due to the fact that farmers would spray a larger amount of herbicides and pesticides to kill weeds and pests since they know that their crops would not be harmed by the chemical substances. In other words, genetic engineering in agriculture does not actually help reduce environmental pollution as opponents claim.
Furthermore, genetic engineers claim that crops can be genetically modified to carry various important vitamins or nutrients which are beneficial to human health, solving the issue of nutrient deficiency in poor countries. Most people would think that genetically modified food is tested and regulated by government agencies. However, genetically modified food is not
Genetic Engineering should not be encouraged
The population of the world is rapidly increasing every year and it is predicted that it will be doubled in the next fifty years. Ensuring an adequate food supply for this growing population is going to be a major challenge for the world in the coming years. Genetic engineers claim that genetically modified foods have numerous characteristics which can meet this global demand. Although genetic engineering technology in agriculture can help increase crop production, genetically modified food should be strictly controlled because it would have a detrimental effect on the environment as well as human health.
First of all, advocates of genetically modified food claim that genetic engineering could decrease the rate of environmental pollution by reducing the use of pesticides and herbicides. However, there is no reliable evidence proving that the rate of pollution has actually decreased since the introduction of genetically modified crops. Instead, it is shown that they may only have the potential to reduce the environmental pollution. “In fact, a genetically engineered crop that tolerates herbicides such as Roundup-Ready soybeans produced by Monsanto would actually increase pollution,” Halford states (2003). This is due to the fact that farmers would spray a larger amount of herbicides and pesticides to kill weeds and pests since they know that their crops would not be harmed by the chemical substances. In other words, genetic engineering in agriculture does not actually help reduce environmental pollution as opponents claim.
Furthermore, genetic engineers claim that crops can be genetically modified to carry various important vitamins or nutrients which are beneficial to human health, solving the issue of nutrient deficiency in poor countries. Most people would think that genetically modified food is tested and regulated by government agencies. However, genetically modified food is not