Written By: Hansini Dodda
Edited by: Pranav Jatin Goud
Humans have been modifying plants and animals for thousands of years; breeding plants which have beneficial traits to get a better and more efficient yield. The technique used by our ancestors (selective breeding) wasn’t particularly efficient; during selective breeding, you have hope you get the desired trait. However, but while genetically engineering crops, we can choose the traits we want and the luck factor is eliminated. In GM crops, the DNA is altered using genetic engineering methods to introduce new traits.
First on why Genetic Modification shouldn’t be banned
Firstly, GMOs help fight against climate change. Climate change is a major problem plaguing the modern world. Agriculture is a massive contributor to greenhouse gasses, producing a whopping 30% of it. Pesticides usage decreasing due to GM crops is one of the reasons the introduction of them decreases carbon emissions. In 2016 alone, GM crops resulted in reduced carbon emissions equal to taking 16.75 million cars off the roads.
In addition, GM crops are better for farmer’s heath and assist in developing a country’s economy. For example, eggplants are an important part of the economy for Bangladesh, but the yield was being destroyed by pests. Farmers relied heavily on pesticides, which had adverse effects on farmers health and was extremely expensive. After the BT brinjal (produces its own pesticide) was introduced, the cost of pesticide reduced by 47, ecological impacts by 82%, net yields was 42% higher for Bt brinjal farmers.
Furthermore, GMOs are cheaper to produce and occupy lesser land. Food is a basic necessity of life that everyone should have access to. The number of people dying from malnutrition can be reduced if GMOs are widely accepted, as GM crops are cheaper than the conventional method and they extensively increase food production. GMOs also take lesser land which decreases deforestation.
On the other hand, why GMOs should be banned
GMOs vastly increase the usage of herbicides. Herbicides can remain active in the environment for long periods of time, causing soil and water contamination. USDA microbiologist Robert Kremer found that the herbicide leaches through the roots of dead weeds into the soil and upsets the balance of beneficial microorganisms to harmful ones.
Secondly, GMOs increase the number of superweeds. Superweeds are weeds that are resistant to herbicides, especially one created by the transfer of genes from genetically modified crops into wild plants. The increased usage of herbicides due to GMOs is aiding the growth of these superweeds. Since these plants will not be killed by herbicides, the main crop will have to combat for resources, leading to a higher chance of crop failure or a lesser yield.
Thirdly, the usage if GMOs can cause mass privatisation or a monopoly. Farmers are losing the seeds of their own plants and being forced to purchase it from seed providers. Agro-chemical and biotech companies like Monsanto could have exclusive access to GMOs and make it much more expensive for farmers to purchase. This affects the farmers the most, but there is also a chance that this can jack up the prices of GM crops and the consumers will be obligated to pay a higher price.
In conclusion, advanced GMO is still a fairly new concept and is yet to be fully explored. In my opinion, the good outweighs the bad and GMOs are leading the way for a sustainable future, but there isn’t any evidence for the long-term effects or the negative changes it could bring, so we should tread with caution.
References -
https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2018/06/developing-nations-lead-growth-gmo-crops/
3 IFPRI, Akhter Ahmed, John F. Hoddinott, Naveen Abedin, Nusrat Z. Hussain, Economic and healthy impacts of genetically modified eggplants. Available at: https://www.ifpri.org/publication/economic-and-health-impacts-genetically-modified-eggplant-results-randomized-controlled
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