Genetically modified organism (GMO) sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. Many Hollywood movies portray genetically modified food as a sort of “franken-food”. One memory that comes to mind is the ‘90s movies Good Burger where a family owned burger joint is nearly put out of business by a corporation that genetically modifies their meat. It isn’t until the consumers are made aware of these modifications that they become disgusted and decide to return to the family owned business. In a general sense this is where we are today with GMOs, but I believe blending science and agriculture doesn’t have to be an inharmonious combination.
GMOs offer many advantages over organic options such as increased yield, lower prices, fewer harmful …show more content…
These genetically modified weeds could potentially destroy the biodiversity in a given area. Amy Ando supports this claim as she reminds us that, “there is concern as well that GM crops could transfer their novel traits to wild relatives through weed crop hybridization. In the case of plants designed to be herbicide or virus resistant, this could in theory produce so-called “super-weeds,” more widespread and difficult to control than their predecessors.” Super-weeds would be devastating to local agriculture and could be abnormally difficult to get rid of through normal weed removal processes. This raises some serious concerns for GMO supporters and it is well warranted as it only takes one super-weed to destroy acres of farmland. It is arguably one of the strongest cases against GMOs and validates a change that needs to occur in GM foods. Yet, Ando fails to realize that just as genetic modification can create an epidemic, it can also adapt in order to prevent one. Om Singh contends that others are currently focusing on fixing these issues by using genes that are not spread through the dispersal of pollen. He argues that super-weeds are not a huge issue in that, “recently, plastids have become attractive targets for genetic engineering of plants because, among other advantages, this technology significantly increases trans-gene containment that is not transmitted by pollen”. Many companies have realized the benefits of targeting plastids and it is growing increasingly more common in research and development labs. This alleviates the threat that super-weeds will be a major problem for GMOs in the coming
GMOs offer many advantages over organic options such as increased yield, lower prices, fewer harmful …show more content…
These genetically modified weeds could potentially destroy the biodiversity in a given area. Amy Ando supports this claim as she reminds us that, “there is concern as well that GM crops could transfer their novel traits to wild relatives through weed crop hybridization. In the case of plants designed to be herbicide or virus resistant, this could in theory produce so-called “super-weeds,” more widespread and difficult to control than their predecessors.” Super-weeds would be devastating to local agriculture and could be abnormally difficult to get rid of through normal weed removal processes. This raises some serious concerns for GMO supporters and it is well warranted as it only takes one super-weed to destroy acres of farmland. It is arguably one of the strongest cases against GMOs and validates a change that needs to occur in GM foods. Yet, Ando fails to realize that just as genetic modification can create an epidemic, it can also adapt in order to prevent one. Om Singh contends that others are currently focusing on fixing these issues by using genes that are not spread through the dispersal of pollen. He argues that super-weeds are not a huge issue in that, “recently, plastids have become attractive targets for genetic engineering of plants because, among other advantages, this technology significantly increases trans-gene containment that is not transmitted by pollen”. Many companies have realized the benefits of targeting plastids and it is growing increasingly more common in research and development labs. This alleviates the threat that super-weeds will be a major problem for GMOs in the coming