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*This page was produced as part of an assignment for an undergraduate course at Davidson College* GM Crops: A Farmer's Dream? |
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Conferring Resistance Ramifications |
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Conclusions Methods and scientific debate aside, the concept of engineering disease, pest, herbicide, and abiotic stress resistance in crop plants through biotechnology is an innovation where the benefits fall into the realm of the obvious. It combats the burgeoning rates of crop loss to diseases, pests, and drought and would enable farmers to both make more money and to feed more people. Though the technology may have its downsides (i.e. pest tolerance to the pesticide), overall the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. This goes especially for subsistence farmers in third world countries. Fear, misunderstanding, and ignorance from both the public and the scientific community lend themselves to blocking further advancement of this potentially life-saving technology. We should not deny ourselves a major tool by fearing these advances to the point of not even allowing some type of explorative field trial in some cases (Lehrman, 1999). The ability to increase yields has powerful implications for farmers worldwide and should be shared between developed and developing nations.
For further information concerning the methods, implications, and arguments for and against this technology, please have a look at our term papers: Alternatives to Transgenic Crops by Nicole Hesson Methods and Implications of Conferring Stress Tolerance to Crop Plants by Sarah Parker Explaining the Research, Allaying Fears, and Making Rebuttals: Engineering Crop Disease Resistance Through Biotechnology by Matt Talbert Questions or comments can be directed to saparker@davidson.edu  Page maintained by Matt Talbert, Nicole Hesson, and Sarah Parker Last modified April 2004 |