The popularity of biotechnology has become extensive due to its direct applications to agriculture. While this idea is based upon a new technology, it might just be the solution that experts in the agricultural industry had hoped for. Over the years, they went on to experiment on various ways to improve crop growth. In fact, some of the early forms of biotechnology include selective breeding and cross pollination.
Background
The concept of biotechnology started in 1970s when genetic engineering was developed. It allowed scientists to alter the genetic cells’ genetic material. Basically, it manipulates the molecules of the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), a main component of chromosomes. The DNA carries genetic information of living organisms, which describes the distinctive and fundamental characteristics a particular being or thing.
Every cell of a particular organism has a double-stranded molecule or DNA. The individual sections or units of the DNA are called genes which contain the genetic information of the organism. Genes passed from the parent to the offspring will determine whatever traits the former will pass on to the latter.
The breakthrough here is that scientists were able to determine the traits from the genes they isolate to move from one plant or animal to another. This movement is a technology called recombinant DNA which is rapidly advancing these days. The question that most people are asking today is that why does the world require biotechnology?
Biotechnology Concept
The scarcity of food or inability of a particular place to produce food can be resolved with the use of biotechnology. As a matter of fact, some countries such as Canada do have quality food surpluses, while other parts of the planet don’t. The problem lies in the ability to meet the increasing demand for food when the population of the world will expand.
New practices have been developed by farmers around the world to improve their crop production. Consequently, scientists have been looking for techniques to accelerate the process and come up with new crops with distinctive advantages against current strains. This is intended to minimize possible environmental damage in the overuse of chemicals.
To address all these concerns, scientific experts turned to biotechnology in the hope of developing new crops. Most of all, the newly developed plants can protect themselves against damage due to insect infestation or viruses. However, varied concerns regarding the impact of biotechnology has led to the creation of pros and cons. Here are a few of these examples.
List of Pros of Biotechnology
1. Nutritional Quality Improvement
According to experts, there is an improved nutritional content such as nutrients and vitamins when biotechnology is applied in the production of crops. For this reason, consumers will be able to improve dietary qualities of their food. So instead of altering their eating habits, it will allow them to eat less. This is because it can sustain satiation, putting an end to hunger as a global issue.
2. Crop Growth Options Improved
There is a huge amount of land that has not been utilized for agriculture. In order to address this issue, biotechnology is introduced to ignore unconventional growing seasons and use more land for that matter. Moreover, plants that can hardly grow on certain climates can now be reversed by engineering the way plants react to the environment. In this manner, it is possible to harvest more food around the world.
3. Pesticide Use Can Be Minimized
With the introduction of biotechnology, plans can be designed to resist certain parasites and pests. This eventually will decrease the use of pesticides which often affect the production of crops. Through this technique, farmers are guaranteed of excellent yield year after year without being dependent on the excessive use of pesticides.
List of Cons of Biotechnology
1. Spread of Blight in Crops
Biotechnological innovations have greatly increased the production of food in the America. But according to a particular research, the creation of big farms and feed heaps will result to the spread of blight. This type of plant disease or injury is denoted by the formation of lesions, death of parts like tubers and leaves, and withering. Furthermore, the manipulation of gene pools can shrink the possibility of diversity. Take note that the survival of certain species depend on gene pool diversity by simply allowing the variation of allele, the ability of organisms to cope with environmental changes and parasitic pathogens.
2. Complexity in Genetic Conditions
Genetic conditions are assumed to involve a straightforward relationship between traits and genes. Nevertheless, it is more than just that because it involves a huge relationship of processes and factors. In fact, a single gene is not enough to determine phenotypes or noticeable traits. This can be done only with the combination of other genes as well as the environment.
3. Threaten the Fertility of Soil
Biotechnology is said to acquire lots of vitamins and nutrients from the soil during production of crops. With this activity it can threaten its fertility and will cause crops to have difficulty to grow in the future. The use of these soils can extend to about 2 or 3 years during the biotechnology period. However, it will take a longer amount of time to regain its fertility which will gain diverse effects for the environment and the production of food.
Final Thoughts
Technological revolutions nowadays can bring about better capacities and opportunities. Even with the intervention of life in different levels, genetic developments has led to the production of new crops to produce more harvest per acre. Clearly, there are many benefits that can be acquired with this idea alone. Nevertheless, there are serious issues that involve confidentiality and privacy that are raised due to the huge amount of information regarding individuals that are collected and stored.
Whatever the judgment will be, based on the few pros and cons here or otherwise, the concept of biotechnology and its impact will continue to have a huge impact to the lives of people. It is up to you to judge whether or not it is essential to apply biotechnology to improve crop production for the future.
Brandon Miller has a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a seasoned writer who has written over one hundred articles, which have been read by over 500,000 people. If you have any comments or concerns about this blog post, then please contact the Green Garage team here.