This answer is part of the Environmental Science FONSFAQ. This was going to be part of Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, but it took longer then planed to write.
Q: Should I worry about genetically modified crops?
I’m going to assume that by genetically modified crops you mean transgenic crops. Some people argue that all domestication is a process of genetic modification. This is true but also a bit like saying all chemicals are natural. I think transgenic crops are clearly different from other forms of plant breeding. Transgenic crops are crops where genes from another species have been added to the original crop’s genome (the set of all of an organism’s genes). Two genes are most commonly used in modern agriculture: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) a bacteria derived insecticide, and Roundup Ready – a gene which confers resistance to Monsanto’s herbicide: Roundup.
( Read more... )
Q: Should I worry about genetically modified crops?
I’m going to assume that by genetically modified crops you mean transgenic crops. Some people argue that all domestication is a process of genetic modification. This is true but also a bit like saying all chemicals are natural. I think transgenic crops are clearly different from other forms of plant breeding. Transgenic crops are crops where genes from another species have been added to the original crop’s genome (the set of all of an organism’s genes). Two genes are most commonly used in modern agriculture: Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) a bacteria derived insecticide, and Roundup Ready – a gene which confers resistance to Monsanto’s herbicide: Roundup.
( Read more... )
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