Use Of Gm Plants example essay topic

Plants are the primary source of food on the Earth. The domestication of plants for agricultural use was a long-term process. They were cultivated by human for thousands of years, during which time plants were continually selected for improved yield, growth of food characteristics. The improvement of a plant species by conservative techniques involves the selection for breeding purposes of certain plants that convey essential characteristics.

As a result of human invasion into selecting which plant to use for production of offspring, it's possible to produce new varieties of plants much faster than it would be in wild nature by natural selection. The techniques of modern genetics have made possible the direct manipulation of the genetic makeup of organisms. Scientists have developed a technique known as recombinant DNA, or gene splicing, which allows the transfer of genes between most organisms, including plants, animals and bacterium. This genetic engineering technique is "an application of biotechnology involving the manipulation of DNA and the transfer of gene components between species in order to encourage replication of desired traits" (OTA 1992). Through its implementation, the resulting "transgenic" plants can, therefore have "genes and traits that traditional breeding can not produce" (Mellon and Rissler 1996). In this sense, the transgenic are truly genetically modified crops.

In agriculture, genetic engineering allows different genetic traits to be transferred to crop plants from wild relatives, other distantly related plants, or any other organism as bacteria, algae or animal. Scientists have different techniques to produce transgenic plants. Mainly these techniques based on advanced microbiology and virus ology. According to the report "Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture", by Royal Society of London genetic modification or GM technology used since 1970's. One of the most permanent future of using GM technology is "the development of novel transgenic crop plant varieties". In some countries, transgenic plants as soybean, cotton, tobacco, potato, tomato, corn, maize and others are already a part of mainstream farming.

For example, the USA (28.7 million hectares in 1999), Canada (4 million), China (0.3 million), and Argentina (6.7 million) are countries that commercially produce transgenic crops ("Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture"). However, there is still much debate about the potential benefits and risks that may result from the use of GM plants. Scientists from different fields and politics from different part of the world, consumers and farmers continue to argue about controversial issues of GM plants. From one side GM plants may help humanity solve problems that we faced today. For example, GM technology can increase amount of food, produce plants with beneficial treats, reduced environmental impact.

From another side GM technology is relatively new and we can not predict their side effects and long-term post effects, but some scientists believe that these effects may be dangerous for human's health, society and environment. The 20th century has seen a great increase in crop yields because of using new progressive technology and chemicals. However today, despite these demonstrable achievements, over 800 million people consume less than 2,000 calories a day, live a life of permanent or intermittent hunger and are chronically undernourished. (2) Most of the hungry are the women and young children of extremely poor families in developing countries. More than 180 million children under five years of age are severely underweight: that is, they are more than twice below the standard weight for their age.

Seventeen million children under five die each year and malnourishment contributes to at least a third of these deaths. GM technology can be part of solving these problems especially in cases when common technologies have been ineffective. For example, traditional breeding methods have been unsuccessful in producing crops containing a high vitamin A concentration. At the same time "vitamin A deficiency causes half a million children to become partially or totally blind each year" (Conway and Toennissen, Nature 1999) and some other diseases.

Biotechnologist's modified rice by introducing three new genes into it:" two from daffodils [flowering plants] and one from a microorganism. The trans genetic rice exhibits an increased production of beta-carotene as a precursor to vitamin A and the seed is yellow in color" (China science Ye et 2000). Another problem that arises from the lack of essential micro-nutrients in food is iron deficiency causes anemia primary in pregnant women and young children. "About four hundred million women of childbearing age suffer as a result and they are more prone to stillborn or underweight children and to mortality at childbirth. Anemia has been identified as contributing factor in over twenty percent of maternal deaths (after giving birth) in Asia and Africa". (Conway G. The Doubly Green Revolution: Food for All in the 21st Century.

London 1999) To reduce the risk of iron deficiency anemia was produced transgenic rice with high level of iron. In this case scientists used genes that " involved in the production of an iron-binding protein and in the production of an enzyme that facilitates iron availability in the human diet". (Lucca "In Proceedings of General Meeting of the International Programme on Rice Biotechnology", 1999) The level of iron that contains transformed plants two to four times higher than the levels of iron normally found in non-transgenic rice. (But the bioavailability of this iron will need to be ascertained by further study.) Moreover, GM modified food may be one of the steps to solve the world problems that arise from continual growth of human population. "By 2030, it is estimated that eight billion persons will populate the world-an increase of two billion people from today population".

(Conway G. Nature 1999) It's understandable that this increase in human population has to be balance by increase in food production. Meeting these challenges will require a new technology that can increase the yield of crop under condition of land shortage, lack of appropriate soil, deficiency of water. Realizing the minimum required growth in overall production of worldwide crops -corn, rice, potatoes, sweat potatoes, wheat-without further increasing land under cultivation, will require significant increases in yields per acre. Increases of production are also needed for many other important crops, such as legumes, cotton, rape, bananas and others. From the other hand, for many environmental activists, and an increasing number of consumers, GM food promises to bring more problems than solutions. Microbiologist Isabelle Meister, who works on the Greenpeace international campaign against GM food, maintains that GM technology is imprecise and has unknown effects, which explains why the environmental group opposes the release of any type of GM organism in the environment.

Future possible mutations are unpredictable, she says, and consumers are being used as guinea pigs. The British Medical Association seems to agree, pointing out there is no way to know at this stage what the health and environmental risks of GM food truly are. Concerns range from the disruption of ecosystems to the potential for allergic reactions and resistance to antibiotics. Besides health and environmental question marks, GM food also raises concerns over food control.

GM technology is patented and therefore subject to intellectual property rules and royalties. This means that the right to use GM seeds is strictly controlled by patent holders, and farmers are not allowed to use seeds from existing GM crops. This could be an expensive exercise for poorer countries, where saving seeds is common practice. This is why organizations such as the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (IS ) works with GM seed producers to supply developing countries with GM technology at cheaper prices. Price, however, is not the only issue. GM technology is controlled by a handful of multinational companies, which raises concerns over the power they may enjoy over the food chain.

According to Christian Aid, a worldwide charity, "ownership and control concentrated in too few hands and food supplies based on too few varieties of crops planted widely are the worst option for food security. Yet, transgenic crops are increasingly popular, now covering 44.2 m hectares worldwide. According to IS, transgenic crops increased by 51% in developing countries last year, and 36% of world soybean crops are already transgenic. Unfortunately, control mechanisms have not developed at the same pace. In September 2000, environmental NGO Friends of the Earth (FoE) revealed that StarLink GM corn, authorized in the US for animal feed but not for human consumption, had made its way into widely distributed taco shells. This triggered a recall, and a number of class actions are looming.

FoE's Bill Freese says this was an accident waiting to happen. "Contamination of conventional corn with StarLink was an inevitable outcome of planting it. The [Environmental Protection Agency]'s belief that limiting the StarLink license to corn for animal feed and industrial use would be sufficient to keep the corn out of the food chain reveals a surprising ignorance of real world conditions on the farm", he says. The US authorities' nonchalance is having consequences beyond the US market. The discovery of Starlink traces in corn shipments to Japan, where Starlink has not been approved even for animal feed, created a public outrage and resulted in a complete halt in shipments. In November 2000, FoE also identified the presence of non-approved GM corn in European food products.

Facing increasing pressure, national governments have been trying to find an appropriate regulatory framework. In January 2000,150 governments adopted the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, whose objective is to establish a transparent system for international GM food trade. Under the Protocol, governments will be able to choose whether or not to accept imports of GM organisms, and exporters will have to provide detailed information of their shipment and obtain authorization before releasing it. The EU has also reinforced its legislation related to labeling and tracing of GM food.

These efforts are just the first steps of GM regulation - they probably won't be the last. Scientists may increase crops production by producing plants which are resistant to a specific pest. Environmentalist Gonsalves D. in his study points out that the virus resistant papaya "has been commercialized and grown in Hawaii since 1996". Transgenic insect resistant crops benefits environment by significant reduce the amount of insecticide applied. Modern physiologists count pesticides as one of the main carcinogen factor. However, using of pest resistant plants will lead to pest adaptation during the time and necessity to produce new plants.

Transgenic plants may exchange pest resistant genes with wild plants that may lead to unpredictable changes in earth biosphere. But for many environmental activists - and an increasing number of consumers - GM food promises to bring more problems than solutions.