Required fields are marked *, Plants possess the capability to make their own food, something almost all other organisms living on the planet…, What is a heatwave? My love for nature is not newfound. But our technology has since then moved even further, which resulted in first food product produced through plant biotechnology in 1990. A similar concern is that transgenic plants could pollinate with the unwanted plants (weeds) and thereby relay the gene of herbicide-resistance or pesticide-resistance into them, thereby converting them into ‘superweeds’. But it’s a necessary evil we have to bear if we are to counter the rising food demand. This affects local crops which may be under danger of extinction or grown less if policies are not made to regulate the growth of GM crops. Before delving into the disadvantages of food biotechnology, let’s highlight some of the advantages of this technique . This also minimizes the amount of food that could go back before even reaching retailers [6]. People argue ha they have a right to know exactly what they are consuming, this is why they request that special labels be put on food products derived from genetically engineered crops. Biodiversity loss is a dangerous trend as it weakens the health of our ecosystems, puts food security at risk and minimizes our ability respond to climate change [5]. This is done by promoting the activity of enzymes that work to transform aroma precursors into flavoring compounds. Later during my stint in medical school, I realized that many of our health concerns originate from neglecting our environmental responsibilities and this was just not sustainable in the long run. Should we Embrace Biotechnology in Agriculture (agritech)? The development of plants is also necessary as they will be encountering worse weather conditions as climate change worsens. The extensive use of GMO varieties is because of the fact that they are more profitable and drought resistant which has made farmers abandon their traditional varieties of plants. However, organic foods are usually from family farms that specifically avoid using any biotech in growing crops. Later, we were able to isolate specific traits from plants such as increased yield, pest and drought resistance and even pesticide or herbicide resistance. As the science evolved, by the 1970s scientists learned to make changes to DNA (chemical structure that translates to characteristics or traits of living organisms) at the molecular level to transform them into genetically modified organisms. Introduction of transgenic bt cotton has led to 15% decline in use of pesticides in all of United States! Drought resistance is also quite the need for crops growing in dry climates. As in, the breeder could certainly control which two breeds to cross but what goes on at the genetic level is out of his control. There is no need for special foods, grown to contain more nutrients when we have other varieties of foods having such nutrients, a substitute should only be considered when there are no alternatives. What scientists noticed is that while rice already contains the genes that produce vitamin A, these get turned off as the rice grow; so what the scientists did was to reverse the process so that the vitamin A genes get activated during the growth [5]. Desertification: Process, Causes, Effects, Solutions, Oil Spills; Causes, Effects and Solutions, 10+ Pros and Cons of Aquaculture (Fish Farming). Not only can there be irregular price of these products due to mass production they’re also of the concern that it may not be viable since it’s not natural.