gmo_biodiversity_case_noques.docx - AG 401 GMOs and...

AG 401: GMOs and Biodiversity
Since historical times, humans have domesticated organisms for the use of agriculture.
By breeding these organisms with the intentions of expressing specific characteristics that are
valued by growers and consumers in some form of matter, humans have altered the range of
genetic content. Naturally, evolution would seek out fit characteristics that increase an
organism’s chance of survival. Technology has changed the process of achieving the wanted
characteristics by the use of genetic engineering. The result of successful genetic engineering
requires the physical insertion of genetic information from one species to another, (“Overview of
the Process of Plant Genetic Engineering”, n.d.). Biotechnology has been used to create various
staple crops including maize, soybeans, cotton, and canola that produce greater yield, are
resistant to pests, and are capable of tolerating drought conditions. Bt crops are the most globally
grown genetically modified crops that covered 29 million acres of the world by 1999. Bacillus
thuringiensis genes have been inserted into these crops, making them resistant to pesticides and
common insects that feed on the crops, specifically bollworms and borers, (“ Bt GM (genetically
modified) crops”, n.d.).