 Image: World Wildlife Fund, Canada |
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ENDANGERED MONARCHS. Scientists say the larvae of these butterflies die when they eat milkweed leaves onto which pollen from genetically modified corn has drifted. |
Yet appearances can be deceiving. Indeed, there are quite a few people who would like to rip these super-ordinary looking plants out by their roots. These crops, being embraced by big agriculture in the U.S., carry genes that imbue them with resistance to herbicides and lace their tissues with a bacterial toxin harmless to humans but fatal to pests that may try to feed on them. For corporate farmers, the promise of such genetically modified crops seems clear--higher yields, superior quality, better nutrition and less need for spraying highly toxic and expensive pesticides.
Since the first genetically modified seeds were sold to farmers just a few years ago, the amount of acreage planted has grown exponentially. By the 1998 growing season, it was estimated that genetically altered crops planted in the U.S.--including tomatoes, squash, cotton, canola, corn, soybeans, rapeseed and potatoes--covered an area the size of Scotland. Corn alone, then in its first season after winning regulatory approval, accounted for some 15 million acres. The percentage of genetically modified seed, some experts estimate, is now approaching 40 to 60 percent of all U.S. plantings. More designer seeds are wending their way through the review and approval processes of the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates pesticides.
It is almost a certainty that practically everyone living in the U.S. has eaten some food that contained the produce of a gene-spliced plant. That's enough to make some people gag.
| Do the risks of genetically modified crops outweigh the benefits? Read what other readers say. |
On the front lines of the controversy these days is Monsanto Inc. The agrochemical giant has developed a line of seeds that are resistant to its multi-billion dollar a year herbicide, Roundup, and carry a gene from a soil bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis. The organism produces a toxin that makes plants the last repast of common insect pests.
In theory, at least, Monsanto's scheme would appear to be a boon to humanity. The gene conferring resistance to Roundup, a chemical known as glyphosate, allows farmers to spray fields with a broad-spectrum herbicide that will spare only the selected crop. And this ability in turn lets farmers optimize their use of "no-till" agriculture, a tactic that can reduce soil erosion by an estimated 70 percent.
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8 Comments
Add CommentEither you need a better typist or a better proofreader.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisgeez. BOORING. snooze. ZZZZZZZ......
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi disliketh having to readeth this.
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Im reading this from my 4th period. In Jenivineee.This classs is very boaring. But this stuff is deffinetly interestinggg. anyy onn here sees my stuff and knowss me comment backk
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyou dumb
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thislol you dumb
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishey
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat is important is that genetic modification is not one thing. Just like steel, you can make a gun from it, or you can make an I-beam from it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn biotech, the worst thing you can make is a new, deadly disease. The best thing you can make? We have no idea yet. In theory, it should be possible to engineer trees to grow rooms in them that have toilet facilities that the trees take away to fertilize their growth. Would that be good? I think so.
Pesticide resistance genes in plants are mixed. They won't harm anyone, but depending on the species they can hybridize and pass on their genes. If the pesticide is used on that plant, it won't work if it's a weed. Bound to happen.
Things like Bt toxin? That's quite different. Can it harm people? Who knows what long term consumption would cause? A better implementation would turn the Bt toxin gene off shortly before harvest so that there won't be any to speak of in the corn.
Genetic engineering though, is here to stay. We are like people alive when man discovered fire, or discovered metal, or explosives. Explosives were banned in China, where they were invented for a long time. Because of that, China was eventually conquered by Europeans who did not ban explosives. Today, we use them in construction all the time. We also use them in warfare.
Genetic engineering is like that.
The bigg issue I worry about is monocultures and infertile hybrid seedstocks. Monocultures of designer resisence supercrops remain vulnerable because they lack diversity. Farmers using infertile hybreds have no diverse seedstocks of thier own. Some day there will be a double-whammy failure of Monsanto's gambit, and lots of prople will be hungry for about 3 months, then tey will die.
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