Increasing food production
Did you learn that at your yoga class? The pesticide isn't built in to the plant. The plant is just less attractive to the certain pests. GECs are also bred to be less susceptible to diseases, such as rust. The main result of GECs are higher yields, and a more hearty plant. They are just as safe (actually safer, due to certain disease resitances) than 'organic' foods. It's selective breeding, but for plants.
More InformationPerhaps it might help to clarify this issue if I let everyone know that the most common pesticide which the crop "produces" is a simple protein which is completely harmless to mammalian life, yet is unable to be digested by certain members of the Lepidoptera insect family, thereby eliminating them. Scientists learned to mimic this from the common soil bacterium bacillus thuringiensis. Since a "pesticide" is defined as any substance which helps to kill, suppress, or otherwise control any form of life harmful to man or his food supply, this protein qualifies as a pesticide, even though it is vastly different from the chemical poison pesticides which we have always been instructed to wash from our food. I've always considered it best to "compare apples to apples", but this situation is clearly "apples to Oranges", or to be more precise, "apples to bassett hounds".Other genetic traits sometimes built into the crop include the ability for the crop plant to resist the effects of certain herbicides such as glyphosate or glufosinate.
Genetically Modified Crops have numerous advantages over the traditional varieties. Some of the advantages are:
Genetically modified crops are disease resistant, insecticide resistant, pesticide resistant. They are better is taste and longevity. The fibres are adjusted to make eating smoother. They are modified to make them more nutritious.
They can be herbicide resistant have a longer shelf life but some ethical concerns are nobody really knows the long-term effects and is it right to interfere with nature in this way?
Sources: EDEXCEL GCSE Science - revision and classroom companion.
to make plants more better at not not preventing silly diseases against crops to save many dying people who will die.
An advantage is often higher crop yield. However they have also genetically modified plants to grow faster instead of more, or to produce better in a certain climate.
No, because the crops are just grown faster than normal.
Science is used to develop new drugs, learn about the universe, design airplanes, cars, and spacecraft, learn about the body, genetically engineer crops, develop new technology, test hypotheses, and much more.
Advantages to traditional farming include there not being as much interference with the crops. This makes the crops healthier, because of fewer pesticides. Disadvantages to traditional farming include the fact that a lot more work is involved in everything from planting to harvesting.
GMOs are genetically modified organisms. In general they are made by taking DNA from a source and putting it into the cells of a target organism to produce a desired trait. More specifically, in crops a gene from a bacteria or other organism is forced into the cells of the plant to produce a desired trait. Often the trait is either resistance to a herbicide or production of a substance in the plant itself to kill insects.
Because some people do not agree with GM crops and it can cause controversal
It is not likely that they will.
not
no
The only proven disadvantage to genetically modified (GM) crops is that some people have shown an alleregic reaction.
It really depends what type of genetically modified crop it is
Genetically modified crops are crops with plants that have been genetically altered in order to increase the yield of the crop. For example, the plant may have been genetically altered to become bigger or more resistant to bugs.
Increasing food production
Increasing food production
No, because the crops are just grown faster than normal.
A lot of people are against genetically modified crops being grown because of potential negative health effects. The effects of altering crops genetically are also not known due to the process being relatively new.
New insects resistant to toxins
The primary genetically modified crops grown in the US are soybean and maize. Rapeseed (used in canola oil) and cotton are also genetically modified.