BENEFITS:
Genetic modification can produce larger, hardier, tastier, and more nutritious foods.
Genetic modification initially was limited to animal husbandry among domesticated animals, such as selectively breeding for the largest hog, the highest milk-producing cow, the wooliest sheep, or the largest egg-layer among chickens.
Nowadays, plants can be genetically modified to be better able to survive abiotic extremes, such as frosty temperatures, heat waves, droughts, and poor soil chemistries.
Plants have also been genetically modified to better tolerate fungi and parisitic insects.
Strawberries have been genetically modified to produce a sweeter, less acidic flavor.
Soybeans have been genetically modified for higher protein content, making them more nutritious for livestock and humans.
Crops modified using GM techniques are less likely to undergo unexpected changes than are conventionally bred crops.
NEGATIVES:
(1) Some GM species may be dangerous, although there is little evidence. The MON863 strain of GM corn was initially thought to cause enlarged kidneys in rats, suggesting that it was unsafe for humans to eat, but the statistical data proved to be wrong.
(2) Some GM species may increase allergenicity. For instance, an allergenic trait has been transferred unintentionally from the Brazil nut into genetically engineered soybeans.
(3) GM crops may reduce biodiversity not only within their own species, but among wildlife living nearby.
(4) GM plants may hybridize with wild plants even at great distances (as when pollen is transferred by wind), reducing the proportion of wild alleles in the native plants.
(5) Some people perceive GM victuals as "Frankenfood," fearing that artificially created species may be harmful, even when no evidence of any danger exists.
(6) Some nations may refuse to trade in GM foods, as did European countries following Monsanto's erroneous findings of renal toxicity in the MON863 strain of GM corn.
