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Pros And Cons Of Biotechnology

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Martha Zenaidi
Ms. Serwin
English 103
16 August 2017

Ten Reasons Why Biotechnology Will Not Ensure Food Security, Protect the Environment and Reduce Poverty in the Developing World
An article written by Miguel A. Altieri and Peter Rosset (1999) addresses certain potential issues and misconceptions about biotechnology. For instance, this article suggests that biotechnology will not ensure food security, protect the environment, and will not reduce poverty in the developing world.
The article points out that there is no relationship between a hungry country and its population, and that the world produces more food than ever before. The real cause of hunger is not the lack of food but the lack of resources to buy it and the lack of land for people to grow their own food. New improvements in biotechnology will not reduce hunger as the vast majority of improvements in biotechnology have been created not because companies want to improve the agriculture or reduce hunger, but because they want to make a profit. An example provided says that new biotechnical innovations increase expenses per acre for seeds plus chemicals, which results in a lower return to the growers – growers are spending more than what they making. Discount packages are offered by biotechnology companies, but only when purchasing technology-packages.
Additionally, recent studies have shown that genetic engineered seeds do not increase the yield of the crops. In 1998 a study conducted by the USDA
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