Hey, what’s in this stuff? New Genes?

Nowadays we are able to buy genetically modified everything: from milk, to corn, to meats. The products from these animals have the same basic genetic material as the animal it was cloned from, and is therefore most likely to be the best.

However, the methods with which they change the foods are dangerous. They may have adverse effects on a human’s health, and it causes many problems to the environment as well.

Some genetic engineering of seeds was done to help the plants grow better. Let’s say, the seedless watermelon. This would be a boon for people who hate watermelon seeds, wouldn’t it? What if it was destroying the environment? Then the boon would become a bane.

Changing plants was done for 4 reasons:
    1. By selecting genes resistant to viruses, bacteria and fungi, crop production could be increased.
    2. They could "trained" to receive nutrients better.
    3. Plants could beat the weeds to nutrients, and resist insects better.
    4. Spraying would be reduced as a result of 3.

These are helpful,

However, the genetic modification of plants and crops to resist pesticides and viruses can destroy the environment.

Firstly, the herbicide resistant crops.
    1. The weeds would develop immunity to the herbicide.
    1. The spray would be stuck.
      • As a result of 1, the spray is useless, and it gets stuck on the ground, where it gets seeped into the ground, possibly hitting groundwater, where it reaches the oceans and contaminates the water.
      • The herbicide that is left stays locked in the ground for a long period of time, contaminating the ground for future generations of crops and other plants.

    Secondly, the virus resistant crops.
        1. The plant, with the genetic changes, could become a weed.
          • The squash, ZW-20, was approved as a safe crop and food, because it did not seem as though it would do any harm. However, changes have been known not to happen immediately. In this case, the mutation could take place over several generations, finally forming new plant viruses, or even changing the plant into a weed, not a productive plant.

          So genetic modifications have their advantages, but a few disadvantages. You decide how important the environment is.
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