Is Genetic Engineering an Absolute Good or Evil for Mankind - Essay Example

Genetically Modified Organisms and the Environment Introduction Science today has progressed drastically and one of the most important inventions of the century is that of genetic engineering i.e. the potential to manipulate the genes at the molecular level in the cell and thereby gaining full control over cellular mechanisms. The scopes that have surfaced since the advent of this technology are beyond imagination and most importantly beyond prediction or control. There is no doubt that this technological advancement is nothing less than a boon to mankind since with its aid mankind can solve hundreds of problems that we face today. However, like two sides of a coin every new technology has its drawbacks and genetic modification is not an exception. “Despite the potential benefits of this new technology to improve the reliability and quality of the world food supply, public and scientific concerns have been raised about the environmental and food safety of GM crops” (Jan-Peter et al,2003). Most impacts of genetically modified plants and animals maybe seen clearly at the environmental even though environmental scientists are yet not sure of what impacts these modifications will have on the environment in the long run. Genetically Modified Organisms The concept of selective reproduction is not new and has been in use for hundreds of years in both agriculture and animal husbandry. However, this control has today reached the molecular level where it is possible to target particular desirable genes and selected the desired trait. Organisms which include plants, animals and even microbes whose genome has been manipulated to enhance expression of a certain gene or allele primarily for some kind of benefit are known as genetically modified organisms. With the help of genetic engineering researchers can obtain any desired gene expression. Genetically engineered corps or transgenic crops such as cotton, potato and corn were modified such that they could express Bt toxin which diminished the usage of chemical insecticides while being grown. Genetically modified crops can also be used for therapeutic purposes such as Golden rice which was inserted with a gene that could express and help in the production of beta carotene; a source of vitamin A. Microbes mainly bacterial genome has been modified to produce chemicals and enzymes. Larger animals such a fishes, mice and Drosophila have been genetically modified mainly for research purposes. However, each of these modifications mainly that of growing crops which is in direct contact with the natural environment i.e. away from the laboratory setting, has impacts that scientists are yet unable to accurately predict. GMO and Biodiversity Biodiversity is represented the different varieties of living things. Scientifically speaking it represents the large gene pool of living organisms. Within a specific species, genetic variation also represents biodiversity. Biodiversity helps in species interaction and stability in the environment. Research has been conducted to understand the negative impacts that genetically modified crops may have on the wild ones. One of the most important consequences that could occur in the environment is that of outcrosssing. It is possible that the genetically modified crops breed with the wild ones thereby passing on modified genes and traits to the hybrid offsprings. Continuous outbreeding may erase the existence of the wild species altogether replacing them with a hybrid species that carries a modified trait. This could have a substantial impact on the ecology since a whole species would be replace thereby affecting the ecological role of the wild variety. Effect on biotic communities Within the natural environmental setting, the biotic communities are harmonized and stable. However mostly owing to outbreeding wild species or some other species may be eliminated altogether leading to instability. Fishes genetically modified to be larger or more cold tolerant could disrupt the biotic communities of other small fishes (Baker et al,1986). Superweeds One of the major impacts of genetic engineering is the extensive usage of weed resistant crops. Weed resistant crops had been bioengineered to help farmers fight against weeds.” For nearly 20 years, herbicide-tolerant GE crops have been marketed as a way to improve yields, lower costs for farmers and reduce agriculture’s environmental impact” (Beans,2013).The usage of herbicide resistant seeds has spurred the use of superweeds which are extremely resistant to herbicides which indirectly increased the rate of herbicide usage (UCS-USA,2012). Negative impact on Soil and Water It has been predicted that with the over usage of herbicide resistant crops there would be increased usage of herbicides in the future. This is a potential threat to the soil and water quality of the land where the crop is grown since the large amounts of herbicides would either seep into the soil or run off and enter the water bodies thereby deteriorating the quality. However, till date no significant changes have been observed in herbicide usage after the introduction of GM crops (Dale et al,2002,p571). GMO and Non-Target organisms Genetically engineered crops especially those that have been induced with insect resistance are often non-specific.Bt endotoxin induced insect resistance is the second most widely introduced trait after the trait of herbicide resistance (Callaghan et al,2005,p271). Therefore these crops may become potential threats to insects that do not normally harm the crops. The effect of GMO on non-target organisms can been seen in the case of bt corn and monarch butterflies where Bt corns express the bt toxin and during dispersal the corn pollen are dispersed long distanced. It had been seen that in natural setting the larvae of monarch butterflies feed on milkweed leaves dusted with the Bt toxin producing pollen owing to which the population reduced gradually (Losey et al, 1999, p214). Environmental Benefits of GMO Genetic engineering and biotechnology aim at enhancing technology for the benefit of the human race. GMO’s had been developed keeping in mind their practical and beneficial usage in our lives and hence one cannot but accept the several benefits that these modified organisms render. Gm crops are modified such that they have inbuilt resistance against pests hence this reduces the usage of chemical pesticides drastically. Chemical pesticides have detrimental effects on the soil and on the environment as a whole. Usage of seeds carrying modified gene that induces resistance against pesticides has reduced pesticide use not only in the U.S. and Canada but in most parts of world. Biofuel today, can also be obtained from microbes. With the skyrocketing costs of petroleum and fuels manipulating microbes like algae to produce increased biofuel is a boon (Radakovits et al,2010). One of the most important benefits that is rendered is the reduced pressure on land. Crops maybe genetically modified to produce higher yields. This means higher yield may be obtained from a small piece of land thereby relieving the land from pressure. Conclusion Genetic modification and manipulation is an extremely powerful tool that has the potential to be useful in our everyday lives. Being in the infantile stage it is not clear how severely the environment would be impacted. However, several studies that have been conducted till date prove the fact that in spite of being manipulated yet they are potential threats to the environment as well. REFERENCES Baker, H. G., Mooney, H. A., & Drake, J. A. (1986). Ecology of biological invasions of North America and Hawaii. New York: Springer-Verlag. Beans, L. (2013, July 1). Genetically Engineered Crops Trigger Cycle of Superweeds and Toxic Pesticides | EcoWatch. Retrieved March 8, 2013, from http://ecowatch.com/2013/07/01/genetically-engineered-crops-trigger-superweeds-toxic-pesticides/ Clarke, B., Fontes, E. M., & Dale, P. J. (2002). Potential for the environmental impact of transgenic crops. Nature Biotechnology. doi:10.1038/nbt0602-567 Losey, J. E., Rayor, L. S., & Carter, M. E. (1999). Transgenic pollen harms monarch larvae.Nature. Nap, J., Metz, P. L., Escaler, M., & Conner, A. J. (2003). The release of genetically modified crops into the environment.Part I. Overview of current status and regulations. Plant Journal. doi:10.1046/j.0960-7412.2003.01602.x O'callaghan, M. (2005). EFFECTS OF PLANTS GENETICALLYMODIFIED FOR INSECTRESISTANCE ON NONTARGETORGANISMS. Annu. Rev. Entomol, 50, 271–92. Radakovits, R., Jinkerson, R. E., Darzins, A., & Posewitz, M. C. (2010). Genetic Engineering of Algae for Enhanced Biofuel Production. Eukaryotic Cell. doi:10.1128/EC.00364-09 UCS (2012). Genetic Engineering in Agriculture | Union of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved March 8, 2014, from http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/our-failing-food-system/genetic-engineering/ Read More