Having a place in paradise is one of the best luxuries that Hawaii has to offer. Picture a nice home with enough room for your family and visiting friends or relatives, a good view of the ocean and nothing but nature surrounding your home. Then imagine waking up to the smell of pesticides in the morning and the nature that once surrounded your home clear cut and replaced with fields of genetically modified corn. This is the current situation that many Hawaii residence are facing as the islands face as new agricultural epoch is starting to change Hawaii’s landscape. Hawaii was once known as the center for the pineapple and sugarcane industries, however, as times have changed a new industry has taken root in Hawaii. The Genetically Modified
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According to the World Health Organization “A genetically modified organism is any organism, such as plants, that have had their genetic material altered in a way that would not have normally occurred naturally.” (World Health Organization pp.2) GM crops, GM plants, and Biotech crops are also different terms used to describe GMO’s. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), plants can be determined as genetically modified if they have had any genetic altercation by traditional means such as the cross breeding of plants for desired traits or modern means such as gene splicing and genetic engineering. (C, …show more content…
As genetic modifications create crops that prevent the decimation of harvests from disease and pestilences genetic modifications can be made to crops to increase harvests. Many sources such as the World Health Organization, ISAAA, and scientists conclude that GMO’s tend to have a higher crop yield than non-modified counterparts. From the article The Ecological Risks and Benefits of Genetically Engineered Plants by Professor of conservation biology L. Laressa Wolfenbarger and U.S Department of State, Bureau of Oceans, Environment, and Science correspondent P.R Phifer, State that the increased yields is partly due to the elimination of risk of disease and pests destroying the crop. Though there has been evidence that found that genetically modified crops in the U.S. have had a slight increase in yields, research is still being conducted to verify if specific modifications towards increasing crop yields will produce a significant result, as such results will potentially lead to less land needing to be developed for agriculture since with increased yield less crops need to be planted and less land needs to be developed, and so preserving natural habitats and having less of an impact on ecosystems. (Wolfenbarger, Phifer) Along with the reduction of land being developed for agriculture the potential for increased yields may prove to be substantial in creating a more
According to the World Health Organization “A genetically modified organism is any organism, such as plants, that have had their genetic material altered in a way that would not have normally occurred naturally.” (World Health Organization pp.2) GM crops, GM plants, and Biotech crops are also different terms used to describe GMO’s. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), plants can be determined as genetically modified if they have had any genetic altercation by traditional means such as the cross breeding of plants for desired traits or modern means such as gene splicing and genetic engineering. (C, …show more content…
As genetic modifications create crops that prevent the decimation of harvests from disease and pestilences genetic modifications can be made to crops to increase harvests. Many sources such as the World Health Organization, ISAAA, and scientists conclude that GMO’s tend to have a higher crop yield than non-modified counterparts. From the article The Ecological Risks and Benefits of Genetically Engineered Plants by Professor of conservation biology L. Laressa Wolfenbarger and U.S Department of State, Bureau of Oceans, Environment, and Science correspondent P.R Phifer, State that the increased yields is partly due to the elimination of risk of disease and pests destroying the crop. Though there has been evidence that found that genetically modified crops in the U.S. have had a slight increase in yields, research is still being conducted to verify if specific modifications towards increasing crop yields will produce a significant result, as such results will potentially lead to less land needing to be developed for agriculture since with increased yield less crops need to be planted and less land needs to be developed, and so preserving natural habitats and having less of an impact on ecosystems. (Wolfenbarger, Phifer) Along with the reduction of land being developed for agriculture the potential for increased yields may prove to be substantial in creating a more