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Genetic Engineering in Agriculture

I started off my research by looking into the genetic engineering of plants. I was looking for the pros and cons, how scientists transfer desired traits into other plants, and how often genetic engineering was used today. In the beginning of my research found out that there a many potential benefits of GE crops. These include: an increased size in harvest, crops that can tolerate drought, less pesticide use, and more efficient use of fertilizer. These are all great things to hear, but what are the side effects of GE? Most scientists say, “While the risks of genetic engineering are often exaggerated or misrepresented, GE crops do have the potential to cause a variety of health problems and environmental impacts” (“Genetic Engineering in Agriculture”). This quote explains that a lot of the rumors about genetic engineering are exaggerated, but there are some risks to using GE in agriculture. They may spread unwanted traits to other crops , produce new allergens and toxins, or harm animals that eat the plants. One current problem with genetic engineering today is the overuse of herbicide tolerant genetically engineered crops has increased the use of herbicides and created herbicide resistant “superweeds”. This will just lead to more herbicide use which will only make the weeds stronger. The rigorous process of transferring desired traits from one plant to another involves a lot of time and hard work. The initial thing scientist do is isolate the desired genes that they want to transfer. They must figure out the structure, function and location of the genes in order to be able to start the journey. After that, the genes must be inserted into a transfer vector. The tool scientists use to transfer genes is a circular molecule of DNA from the soil bacterium, Agrobacterium Tumefaciens. The genes are inserted into the bacterium using recombinant DNA techniques. When the bacterium is abundant with the selected genes, The plant transformation process begins. To begin, scientists take the modified A. Tumefaciens cells that hold the new genes and either mix them with cells of the plant or cut pieces of plants (such as leaves or stems) they want to modify.

The bacteria then inserts the desired genes into one of the plant’s chromosomes and form genetically modified cells. After transformation has been done, scientists must differentiate between GE cells and normal cells that aren’t incorporated with the desired genes. Usually, the genes that hold antibiotic or herbicide resistance are used to favor growth of the transformed cells relative to the non transformed cells. When doing this method, genes responsible for resistance are inserted into the vector and moved along with the genes possessing desired traits to the plant cells. When the cells are exposed to the antibiotic or herbicide, only the transformed cells will survive. The transformed cells are then regenerated to create an entire GE plant. The majority of the population may not know this, but roughly 60%80% of the food in your pantry is genetically modified. One of the main ways to know that your food is not genetically modified, is if it is labeled organic by the USDA. I am very shocked at how much food we eat everyday without knowing how it was grown. The author of The Genetically Modified Food You Eat Every Day states, “You may not know that you’re eating these crops—despite the fact that they appear in 80% of all packaged food sold in the country—because the U.S. is one of the few places in the developed world that doesn’t require food producers to disclose whether or not their ingredients have any modifications” ("The Genetically Modified Food You Eat Every Day."). This makes me feel a little bit untrusting towards the food companies. I feel that people purchasing the products should have a right to know what they’re eating.

I’ve concluded that genetically engineered in plants is ethical. Although there are a Wakefield 7 couple negative outcomes, they are not very serious and there are no proven cases of a human being harmed from GE crops. Even though I don’t agree with the food company’s choice to not reveal whether or not their products are GE or not, there is too much at risk if we were to not use GE. The positive outcomes outweigh the negative. If GE crops were to stop being produced, there is a high possibility that the nation could fall into a famine. This could happen because the “superweeds” have already been created, and if crops were to become weaker, then the weeds would absorb the nutrients the plants need and the majority of plants would die.

The only obstacles I encountered throughout my research was whether or not the information was true. I had to look through multiple sources of information to figure that out. One question that I have now is how is GE in agriculture similar to GE in humans? This leads me to my next move which will be to focus on GE in humans.