Environmental and Consumer benefits of genetically modifying crops.

     The environmental benefits of producing genetically modified crops to the environment is that on the farms, less pesticides will have to be used on the crops to keep them disease resistant. the crops can have a gene inserted that resists a threatening disease. This means that less of the crop will be lost so the farmers also achieve a higher yield. Another benefit is that the crops will be able to grow in places where they couldn't before. They could be made so they are more pH tolerant, frost tolerant or they could grow in soil that is infertile, pushing the boundaries of where they can grow. The crops could also be modified so they have a resistance to disease or weeds.

      The benefits to the consumer are that the food could contain higher levels of protein; lower levels of fat or vitamins and minerals that are not naturally produced in the plant could be introduced. The crops could also be made so they last longer without starting to decay or rot and toxins or poisons present in plants could be removed. Another major benefit to the consumer is that the taste of the crop could be improved or changed. The time that it takes for the crop to mature could be altered, making foods available all year round as opposed to just certain times of the year. Another major benefit of GM crops would be to make the fruit of the plant bigger to give the plat a higher yield. This would mean that the farmer would have more food and this would lead to cheaper prices for the consumer. This also has massive implications for starving people in third world countries. If more food was available, more could be sent to them and if it was modified so it has a high nutritional content, then they wouldn't need as much to sustain them. E.g. On the horizon are bananas that produce human vaccines against infectious diseases such as hepatitis B; fish that mature more quickly; fruit and nut trees that yield years earlier, and plants that produce new plastics with unique properties.

    Although there are major benefits to help stop world hunger, ways to produce hormones and nutrients and resist pests and weeds there are drawbacks otherwise we would be mass-producing GM crops now. It could be argued that making GM crops involves all of the crops being genetically identical and if a disease was to strike, it could decimate entire species of plants because none of them would be capable of resisting it. Also diseases could be transferred from one animal to another with devastating effects.

      If the method of reproduction among the plants was to be tampered with, the plant may not be able to reproduce anymore. If this genetically modified strand of the plant bred with a ‘normal’ plant then this defect or mutation could be passed on and the whole species of plant could be in danger of extinction. There are bound to be unsuccessful tests and trials carried out when experiments go wrong. If these plants were to get out into the wild then there could be a disaster. This is where the scientists could slip up and if they do, there is no way to take it back. I think that these benefits show that genetically modifying crops can make bigger, more nutritional, disease and weather resistant crops, which can benefit everyone but the dangers are there because the scientists are delving in to the unknown and it is not certain what the consequences of these actions will have.