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4.14 Implications of Genetic Engineering and Selective Breeding - Coggle…
4.14 Implications of Genetic Engineering and Selective Breeding
Benefits and Risks of Genetic Engineering
Benefits
In agriculture it can be used to improve yields by
Improving growth rates
Introducing modifications that allow the crops to grow in different conditions, e.g. hotter or drier climates
Introducing modifications that allow plants to make their own pesticide or herbicide
Crops with extra vitamins can be produced in areas where they are difficult to obtain
It can be very useful in medicine to mass produce certain hormones in microorganisms (bacteria and fungi)
Greater yields can help solve world hunger, which is becoming an increasingly bigger issue due to population growth
Risks
People are worried that we do not completely understand the effects of GM crops on human health
Genetic engineering in agriculture could lead to genetic engineering in humans. This may result in people using the technology to have designer babies
They pose a selection pressure, which could lead to increased resistance in other species, creating super weeds and pests
GM crops might have an effect on wild flowers and therefore insects
Growing with herbicides and pesticides can kill insects and other plants, which would reduce biodiversity
GM crops are infertile and these genes could spread into wild plants, leading to infertility in other species, which affects the entire environment
Benefits and Risks of Selective Breeding
Benefits
It is possible to greatly increase the yield of a particular crop by selectively breeding only individuals that produce higher quality or a larger mass of food
Individual plants or animals can be bred to be resistant to a particular disease, which could increase crop yield
Risks
Selecting for advantageous characteristics can sometimes cause severe health problems in the offspring - e.g chickens that have been bred to have more meat (muscle) are sometimes too large to be able to walk
Lack of genetic variation - Despite the bred population being able to have resistance to a particular disease (or multiple diseases), if one of them has susceptibility to a different disease then they all do - and the entire population could be wiped out as a result
There are ethical issues associated with selective breeding -many people consider it unethical to selectively breed for characteristics wanted by humans if it means that the offspring will suffer, or have a reduced quality of life as a result