Conclusions
Methods and scientific debate aside, the concept of engineering disease,
pest, herbicide, and abiotic stress resistance in crop plants through
biotechnology is an innovation where the benefits fall into the realm of
the obvious. It combats the burgeoning rates of crop loss to diseases,
pests, and drought and would enable farmers to both make more money and
to feed more people. Though the technology may have its downsides (i.e.
pest tolerance to the pesticide), overall the advantages outweigh the
disadvantages. This goes especially for subsistence farmers in third
world countries. Fear, misunderstanding, and ignorance from both
the public and the scientific community lend themselves to blocking
further advancement of this potentially life-saving technology. We
should not deny ourselves a major tool by fearing these advances to the
point of not even allowing some type of explorative field trial in some
cases (Lehrman, 1999). The ability to increase yields has powerful
implications for farmers worldwide and should be shared between
developed and developing nations.
For further information concerning the methods,
implications, and arguments for and against this technology, please have
a look at our term papers:
Alternatives to Transgenic Crops by Nicole Hesson
Methods and Implications of Conferring Stress Tolerance to Crop Plants by Sarah Parker
Explaining the Research, Allaying Fears, and Making Rebuttals:
Engineering Crop Disease Resistance Through Biotechnology by Matt Talbert
|