Genetic Engineering Of Crops
7 Pages 1759 Words
śgiven” recombinant DNA, they acquire traits and genes that they did not possess naturally. This process is of great concern to anti-biotech groups.
The first era of genetically engineered crops’ goal was to make the crops herbicide resistant, in order to make weed management an easier process. (McCullum 2) The first request to deliberately release a genetically engineered crop came from the University of California at Berkley in 1982. The genetically modified crop had a gene that reduced the amount of frost damage. (Uchtmann 4-6) The first generation of these plants failed to achieve pre-market approval and were not sold to the general public.
The second generation of genetically engineered crops began in 1995 when they became commercially used. By 1999 over 70 million acres of genetically engineered crops were being planted annually. Examples of improvements made by genetic engineering are insect resistant corn and potatoes and virus resistant squash. (McCullum, 4)
Critics of genetically engineered crops have made numerous attempts to regulate or even boycott the biotech industry. They have numerous concerns with the industry. The main issues are ecological and environmental. They point out possible food shortage problems such as insects becoming resistant to genetically engineered toxins. It would be p...