The GM debate in context
Back to Topic
Click to Print
Useful Websites
Glossary Term Selection
By Helen Birtwistle
What’s new about GM technology?
For thousands of years farmers and plant breeders have been changing the genetic makeup of crops to improve characteristics like size, resistance to disease and taste. They started simply by sowing only those seeds that came from plants with desirable traits. Later, knowledge about plant reproduction enabled crossbreeding of plants to create new crops, with scientists using chemicals and radiation to introduce favourable mutations. Now genetic engineering makes it possible to overcome natural reproductive barriers, as a single gene with a desired function can be transferred into an existing crop variety. At the centre of the debate is the question of whether GM is simply the next stage in the development of agricultural technologies or whether it represents a new departure with risky and irreversible consequences.
Does GM create new risks?
Plant scientists generally claim the former. Because genetic modification is more precise...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites
