Running Head: GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

Genetically Modified Crops

Nawal M. Moafa
Dr. James Redd
Mississippi State University
November 10, 2014

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

Abstract
The amount of population expected to be increase in next 20 years. It would reach 9 billion
by 2050. The increase in population would be a major reason for food demand. The rapid
increase in some food production such as crops, vegetables, and fruits would be a possible
solution for this problem. The agriculture industry has been concerned over several obstacles
that stay on the face of its productivity, such as weather changing, plant disease and insects.
Genetic modified crops are known as food produced from an organism that have specific
changes in their DNA by using different methods of genetic engineering such as breeding.
Breeding between unrelated species doesnt exist in nature conditions. There are several biotechniques used lately on those plants in the research labs to enhance desired trails and
improve the nutritional content. It is been known that they have the ability for resistance to
disease, herbicide, and environmental damage, nutrition, and higher crops yields. The generic
engineering field would help countries to meet with their demand of food in next 20 years.
Genetically modified crops are considered as on of the most controversial subjects because of
the disadvantages that would be created by breeding between distinct species.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

Introduction
The human population is expected to increase in the next 20 years to reach 9 billion by
2050. Population increase will require different food sources to feed this large number of
people. Recently, many governments and scientists have started giving a lot of attention to
genetically modified techniques to cover the needs of this increasing number of human
beings. Genetically modified food is genetically changing in the DNA of plants to introduce
new traits to the plants that do not happen naturally. Biochemist S. Jhansi Rani at el says,
there is a need to use the genetic techniques to improve crops over the recent decades.
(2013, p. 881). There are several advantages to this source of food over traditionally grown,
organic food, such as, resistance to disease, herbicide, and environmental damage, nutrition,
and higher crops yields. These advantages make the industry very interested in supporting

scientific fields of research to come with new methods to make modified crops a primary way
to cover the needs of the population. However, here are also several disadvantages that
remain obstacles to the success of this field and include a several concerns regarding its
future, such as its causation for deadly disease. There is also a resistance movement made up
of individuals who are afraid to embrace GM crops because eating organic food is a part of
their lifestyle. In addition, genetically modified food could be a majorly contribute to poor
countries relying on developed countries to get their own nutritional daily requirements. Due
to the current debates surrounding genetically modified food, scientists and governments are
still working hard to come up with possible ways to minimize these disadvantages, while
maximizing advantages.

Genetically modified food is a great way to save millions of plants and farms all around the
world. Farmers routinely complain about numerous foreign organisms that attack their farms
every day, and genetically modified crops are a way to ensure crops gain several traits that

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

have the advantage of the resistance to several harmful diseases. Biochemist Sasaya at el
mentions, Developing efficient methods to control rice viruses is thus an urgent necessity
because viruses cause serious losses in rice yield. (2010). Viruses and pathogens kill a lot of
crops every year including rice. Creating genetically modified rice called Oryza Sativa L. was
a great way to avoid those viruses and accordingly make rice that is able to resist this harmful
disease. Genetically modified food is an efficient way to transfer endurance traits to several
types of crops all around the world.

Nutrition is another advantage of genetically modified crops. Several types of crops are
deficient in a number of minerals and vitamins. Vitamins are an organic compound that we
add to our daily diet to increase our health, by increasing the metabolism of minerals in our
body or by regulating the cells and tissue growth and differentiation. For example,
transferring some traits of legume seeds to different types of rice helps to control the loss of
nitrogen because legumes are a well-known source of this chemical molecule. Researcher
Yingliang Yu at el, says, A possible solution is the incorporation of legumes in rice because
legumes are a source of nitrogen. (2013, p. 634). Genetically modified food is a good way to
incorporate many helpful substances to our daily diet, which is a primary reason to support
this field. Having different types of genetically modified food is going to increase the scale of
healthiness in our bodies and make it easier and cheaper to gain vitamins and
minerals through our food instead of having them in pills, for instance.

Weather changing resistance is one more advantage of genetically modified food. Some
climates are not ideal for the growth of different types of crops. Genetic modification is a
useful technique for plants to adapt to weather change. Biochemist Rotrman David at el says,
If you have a relatively stable climate, you can breed crops with genetic characteristics that

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

follow a certain profile of temperatures and rainfall. (2014, p. 29). Rotman describes how
scientists develop transgenic potatoes and grains and study the results to see what effect
climate has on crops specifically, and on the agriculture industry in general. In his article he
brings up several stories about countries that were trying to deal with several diseases caused
by climate changes that had a negative effect on the growth of several types of crops such as
potatoes, wheat, and rice. David also discussed how the GM crops help those countries
resolve these issues by introducing survival traits that make crops able to grow under their
conditions. Genetic modification is a remarkable field that will help crops grow normally
under different climates which is does not happen in nature with organic crops. GM crops
have a promising future to cover the increase in the population by increasing the abilities of
plants for the resistance to climate change.

Herbicide and environmental damage resistance is also one of the advantages that makes the
field of genetically modified crops a noteworthy field. Insects are one of the species that
negatively affect the growth of crops by causing different types of plant pathogens and
subsequent environmental damaging to adjacent plants. To increase the ability of crops to
survive against those species, herbicides are one way to help crops survive against insects,
but they also still have a harmful impact on other crops. Add something more here something
to bring the negative aspects and positive aspects together into a final thought.
Higher crop yields are another advantage of incorporating genetically modified food into our
lives. All the previous factors concern governments and farmers specifically because they are
major reasons for a decreasing amount of crop yields. Researcher Baches mentions, The
proliferation of genetically modified rice can help the 780 million people suffering from
hunger worldwide.(2007, p. 342). Baches at el, explains how Genetically Modified food has
a promising future despite some downfalls. Millions of poor people are suffering from hunger

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

in several parts of the world, especially in Africa. Increasing the yield of crops will alleviate
worldwide hunger and will help governments achieve this goal with scientists' help.

With all the advantages of genetically modified crops, it is still a controversial subject and
concerns a good amount of people worldwide. There are groups of people debating against
this field for different reasons, such as, causation of harmful human disease; resistance to
eating genetically modified crops, and making countries rely on others.
Causation of harmful disease is one of the disadvantages that remain an obstacle against
incorporating this field into our daily lives and diets. Some scientists think that chemically
treating crops by introducing the DNA of a different species could decrease the ability of our
immune system, which has lead to a lot of toxic disease. In Bio med Ltd. they report:
Results Several convergent data appear to indicate liver and kidney problems as end points of
GMO diet effects in the above-mentioned experiments. In this paper, they examine several
types of genetically modified crops on different types of mammals to test the effect of this
food on their health and dietary systems. The result was several problems on different tissues
and organisms including the kidney and liver. The effect of genetically modified food is one
of the biggest disadvantages that concern health organizations and society.

There are different types of groups and cultures afraid of including genetically modified
crops into their daily diet. There is an international fear of genetically modified crops; the
extreme opposition to genetic modification has led to controversial debate. Many people still
believe that nothing is healthier than organic food. They believe that modified crops would be
a serious danger that could lead to several health issues in the society, which makes them
stand against the development of the genetically modified food industry. There are hundred
of workshops, journals, and newspaper columns trying to warn society against this type of

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

food.

Despite the entire objection of many who raise environmental food safety and ethical
concerns, there are several developing countries welcoming the improvements the field of
GM crops because they are more possible to be used by everyone. Those developing
countries would be the primary recipients of GM crops, which will result in making
undeveloped countries start relying on other developed countries to get their food needs
because they lack sources that could help them to improve their own agriculture. This
imbalance will give strength to developed countries over the poor, which could create
negative political issues.

Discussion
Genetically modified crops are still not used in several underdeveloped areas because the
citizens are afraid of dealing with this new field and involving it in their daily diet. Those
underdeveloped areas also still have lack of resources and budget that would enable them to
start their own research and production of genetically modified crops. Several scientists and
groups are trying to teach those areas about the benefits of this field and how they are
working to minimize any potential risks. Several researches are going on to disprove any
superstitions that could be an obstacle to the development of genetically modified crops, in
order to make it healthier and better used by a larger number of consumers.

On the other hand, several studies start to examine the results of using genetically modified
crops. Some of scientists found out that there are several diseases that could be caused by this
type of food. Based on that, the governments and organizations have drafted a lot of policies
in the US and internationally to help ensure that GM foods are reviewed and tested before

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

they are released to the general public, thereby making sure no one gets hurt. The field of
developing genetically modified crops is still increasing because by minimizing the
disadvantages and maximizing the advantages, people will start to trust this field and start to
use it as a primary or secondary source for food.

Conclusion
Genetically modified crops are a manufactured type of food that includes the transfer of
wanted traits to another species by using its genetic information. These methods make a
group of people concerned about consuming this type of misfielded crop because they are
afraid of using this food as part of their daily diet, while others support consuming only
organic food. However, if we look at the overall advantages and disadvantages of genetically
modified crops, we will find that the benefits of these crops such as, resistance against
disease and climate change, and increasing the yield of this food, exceeds the potential harms
of genetically modified crops. Moreover, researchers are continuing to find ways to fill in the
gaps of knowledge in order to make consumers more motivated to embrace genetically
modified crops. As time goes by, we will find more consumers willing to accept this
remarkable approach. Researchers still predict that the population will increase dramatically
by the end of 2050. With this increase there is an urgent demand to find more sources that
would be able to cover population needs for food.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

Refrences

Bachas-Daunert, S. S., & Deo, S. K. (2008). Should genetically modified foods be abandoned
on the basis of allergenicity?. Analytical And Bioanalytical Chemistry, 392(3), 341346. doi:10.1007/s00216-008-2123-8
Rani, S., & Usha, R. R. (2013). Transgenic plants: Types, benefits, public concerns and
future. Journal Of Pharmacy Research, 6/7(8), 879-883.
doi:10.1016/j.jopr.2013.08.008
Rotman, D. (2014). WHY WE WILL NEED GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS.
Technology Review, 117(1), 28-37.

Yu, Y. (2014). Winter legumes in rice crop rotations reduce nitrogen loss, and improve rice
yield and soil nitrogen supply. INAR and Springer, 34:633640 DOI 10.1007/s13593013-0173-6