Position Paper # 2

“Should there be government regulations to protect the environment from genetically engineered crops?”

 

    All applications of genetic engineering should be banned that carry the risk of accidental or intentional release of genetically modified organisms into the environment. If there is no regulation to protect the environment from genetically engineered crops, our environment will worsen. Plants, animals and resources will die for no reason because of the crops. If animals and plants start to die then there will be an interruption in the food chain. In the long run people will start to die because there will be no animals and plants to feed off of.

    The process of genetic engineering can thus introduce dangerous new allergens and toxins into foods that were previously naturally safe. Another defect is that there will be an increase in pollluntion for food and water supply. More than 50% of the crops developed by biotechnology companies have been engineered to be resistant to herbicides There is also serious concern about the dangers of using genetically engineered viruses as delivery vehicles in the generation of transgenic plants and animals. Transferring animal genes into plants raises important ethical issues for vegetarians and religious groups. It may also involve animal experiments which are unacceptable. When new genetic information is introduced into plants, bacteria, insects or other animals, it can easily be passed into related organisms, through processes such as cross pollination. This process has already created "super weeds". Existing species can also be displaced from the ecosystem with disastrous effects, as happened with genetically modified Klebsiella soil bacteria.

     There are many different risks the genetic engineered food that can cause our environment. The genetically engineered crops are just hurting the environment and causes a risk to the other plants, animals and even ourselves.