Pros And Cons Of Genetically Modified Crops

Environmental Concerns. As far as environmental and ecological issues are concerned, the biggest issues are a potential gene escape, superweeds, impacts on non-target species, insecticide resistance, and the loss of biodiversity. Some people believe that genetically modified plants and weeds will cross pollinate, creating weeds that are resistant to glyphosate(a broad spectrum herbicide used to kill weeds) and in turn make the weeds difficult to control. The chance of this occurring is small but still possible. However, if a plant did become resistant to glyphosate it could easily be killed with a different type of herbicide.
Another reason people are concerned about transgenic crops is that they could have negative impacts on nontarget species. For example, Bt corn was intended to produce a gene that in itself …show more content…
In order to prevent this from happening, there has been an extensive collection of seeds of all types of plant varieties of all major crops by plant breeders.Biotechnologists in the agricultural field also want to make sure that there is a genetic diversity among plants. While genetic diversity is a concern, in the United States the demand for locally grown produce as well as special crop varieties has been on the rise, simultaneously maintaining the demand for non GMO foods and biodiversity.
Social Concerns. The major social issues regarding genetically modified crops are labeling, terminator crops, safety, and regulation. Many people who are currently against genetically engineered foods are concerned because current regulations on labeling only require genetically modified foods to be labeled if they are nutritionally different from non genetically modified foods. This means that they could be against eating genetically modified foods and still be consuming them without their