The Effects Of Pesticides On The Environment

One of the biggest advantages of agricultural biotechnology lies in its economic efficiency. GM crops are financially beneficial to both the farmer and the consumer. Due to their resistance to pests, viruses, and adverse climates, genetically altered crops produce much larger yields than organic or conventional crops. For example, studies show that if no insecticide is used, a GM crop known as Bt maize has a 48% higher yield than non-modified maize varieties

First, the production of GM food helps crops become pest, and disease resistant. Thus, farmers who usually lose a vast portion of

GMO crops initially started out to be resistant to bugs and weeds without pesticides because of the chemical makeup of the seeds. This was found to be a major benefit of GMOs because there was no longer a need to use pesticides on crops in order to keep the plants alive. However, this slowly started to change, the bugs and weeds eventually created a tolerance towards the GM chemical fields and were no longer dying off naturally. In fact farmers today are becoming more dependent on using pesticides and are “spraying up to three coats of pesticides this year” (Stauffer). These pesticides being used are far more toxic than before because the weeds are bigger and stronger after being exposed to GMOs. The weed growth is what people say to be “nature’s strike back to science.” Not only are GMOs alone bad for the human body but also adding extreme toxic pesticides to the picture creates more health issues for the environment and

The GM crops mostly the insect resistant and herbicide tolerance crops have contributed to reductions in greenhouse gas emission. Greenhouse gas is actually a gaseous compound in the atmosphere, which absorbs the infrared radiations and holds the heat in atmosphere. Further, leads to increase of heat in the atmosphere, this ultimately leads to global warming. In GM technology the farmers have to make few passes on their fields to spray insecticides and herbicides, which means they require less fuel to spray on this GM crops. In conventional farming the farmer has to spray their crops twice a week to protect them from highly damaging fruit, but where as in insect resistant crop (GM technology) need only as little as one time spray during a season. GM crops have helped most of the farmers to

GMOs have many benefits to society. GMOs have been engineered for resistance to insects, tolerance to herbicides, tolerance to heat, cold, or drought, and also to increase nutrients. According to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, more food can be grow on less land with the help of genetically modified crops. If that statement is true, that would mean that farmers could produce crops faster and in a larger quantity; therefore, creating a larger income source for the farmer and making a more sustainable source of food for the world. It would also mean that less crops would be lost to weather catastrophes; whereas, with organic, the crops would be more reliant on the uncertainness of the

The good news about GMOs is that they reduce the need for herbicides and pesticides (Smith). By reducing the needs for these contaminates, foods become safer to feed to families. The chemicals that are put on the crops that scientists are modifying to be pest and weed resistant are harmful if consumed; that’s why there is a label on all farm fresh foods that say wash before consumption. Scientists are working to reduce the need for these chemicals so that these crops can be more family friendly and safer for the general public to consume. Also, by eliminating most of the chemicals the farmers spray on their crops, it helps to reduce

Many scientists have been studying the GMO's on the ecosystem and have found that GM crops can survive much more weather effects than regular non GM crops. For example in the article “Potential benefits for agricultural productivity” the article states “benefits could result from better resistance to severe weather, such as frost, extreme heat or drought.” Because the weather can be very unpredictable farmers have no idea what the weather will throw at them but because of the GM crops resistance to heat and cold it will have a better chance at surviving it more then any regular non GM crop. GMO crops fields have also been known to stop certain pests from eating the farmers crops thus saving them money. Although there are many beneficial things GMO have done to the ecosystem there have also been reports on GM crops destroying earth soil and killing beneficial insects. In recent studies researchers have found that GM crops are killing

Food is one of the most essential things that the human body needs in order to function and coordinate to its fullest potential. There are many sources of food and while some people choose to have different dietary lifestyles, majority of them gather their food from different grocery stores, farmers markets, and/or personal cultivations. Diet plays a major role when it comes to food choices and today there are more food choices than ever before. The variety of choices can sometimes confuse the consumer in the choosing the healthiest product. However, the recent introduction of organic products seems like the right alternative to the high processing meats and high doses of pesticides in conventional fruit and vegetables. Yet, these products will cost up to three times more than regular products. Over the past couple of years the public has become more aware of the dangers and consequences that pesticides do to the body. Pesticides have been used on crops and land in order to prevent damage to the production of crops. While pesticide usage is nothing new to the public, the evolution of such has made almost impossible for the standard human to understand the complexity of the chemical bonds. The continuous adaptations of pest to the chemical composition of the pesticides have increased the need for stronger and complex chemical bonds. Unfortunately for the public the stronger the pesticide the higher the odds that it will remain in the food that is delivered at local stores or

People who support GM foods dismiss complaints that they might not be safe to eat. GM foods are likely to be more nutritious and contain smaller amounts of pesticide residues that foods raised by traditional farming methods. Food poisoning agents such as salmonella are natural and they kill thousands of people each year. Lots of plants produce powerful toxins to deter pests. With the technology of GM Crops including beans and cassava (a fruit grown in tropical countries) produce cyanide that can be removed before cooking. This is extremely useful for consumers to eat and for producers to make.

The first GM crop that reached the market was Bt cotton, with this crop; farmers can spray less pesticide and improve the health of consumers. The planting of GM cotton had been very effective to farmers, “Transgenic cotton reduced pesticide use by more than two million pounds in the United States from 1996 to 2000, and it has reduced pesticide sprayings in parts of China by more than half” (Rauch). Genetically Modified crops have been successful in the United States and China because these two countries are the major producers in the agricultural world. To further prove this point, the use of pesticide had reduced by more than 14 million pounds on 23 million acres of U.S. land; ever since the use of GMO which was proven to be statistically significant (Rauch). However the various consequences that follow the benefits of Genetically Modified foods such as the threat to human health outweigh its benefits.

GMO’s have lots of benefits to offer. First off, it can create plants that are better resist weeds, pest and other diseases. Corn is an example of a food that can be protected. Corn is an extremely popular crop grown and is commonly grown throughout the Unites States. However, it can not reproduce without human aid. This crop is very vulnerable to pests and disease, and requires a lot of nutrients. GMO’s are a huge factor in the growth and success of corn. Without GMOs, we would be without one of the most widely used plants in the world. Genetically modified organisms also have bigger yields to help make the use of land more efficient, and less use of herbicides and pesticides. It’s also been shown that food that has been affected by GMOs has better flavor, texture, and nutritional value. The food has longer shelf-life, which is better for shipping product. Lastly, GM foods can create an essential sustainable way to feed the world.

Next, other studies were conducted on farmers since they are most exposed to the pesticides. One study was conducted in eastern Nebraska, and the study determined the risk of glioma, a brain tumor, associated with farming and the use of agricultural pesticide (Lee et al). The study included random selections from the eastern Nebraska area, and study was completed by telephone communications of men and women in the Nebraska area who were diagnosed with gliomas (Lee et al). The participants were asked what type of pesticides they used on their

This article starts with a description of GMOs and explains that the two main traits that have been added to plants since GMOs have been introduced are herbicide tolerance and the ability of plants to produce their own pesticide. It states that ninety-four percent of soy, ninety percent of cotton and canola, ninety-five percent of sugar beets, eighty-eight percent of corn, and more than fifty percent of Hawaiian papaya that are commercialized in the U.S. are genetically modified. This accounts for over twenty-four thousand acres of farmland. There are also GM products that are derived from these crops that may not be obvious including oils, soy protein,

Today, there are many current threats to bees and their numbers. These would include harmful pesticides and insecticides. When these damaging chemicals are used to protect crops from harmful parasites, they often affect honeybees as well. Pesticides and insecticides have also been sad to be one of the many causes of Colony Collapse Disorder, a strange, mostly unexplained phenomenon where bees abruptly leave their hive. Several experiments or tests were performed on bumblebees. The studies had shown that imidacloprid and [lambda]-cyhalothrin, two types of pesticides that are commonly used, can potentially affect and be devastating to an entire hive of bees if left untreated. Fortunately, all is not lost. Changes can be made to regulations of pesticides and how these damaging chemicals are used. The bee population can also be increased by raising bees on bee pastures or using ozone gas to clean hives that have previously been affected by pesticides. Actions such as these are necessary to help to increase and maintain the number of bees. The death of many hundreds of thousands of bees due to pesticides may potentially be very harmful to the environment if it is unfixed or untreated, leaving plants that needed to be pollinated by bees unable to grow, eventually affecting the rest of the ecosystem.

            Both sides on this issue have strong arguments, and have reasons to argue.  Supporters of bio-engineering argue that it is a new and efficient way of increasing crop production without increasing costs, time, or labor (Ibrahim 2).  Plants modified to resist pesticides may be grown in fields where herbicides are sprayed to kill unnecessary weeds and pests, reducing the amount of pesticides needed in production (Marwick 2).  Supporters argue that in no way do GM crops have less nutritional value, and that in fact new crops may be modified in the future to have enhanced nutritional value (Sticky Labels 3).  "Golden rice," modified with Vitamin A has been successfully produced and hopefully will be used in Vitamin A-deficient areas in Asia, Africa, and Latin America (Rusting 71).  GMO producer DuPont has created a soybean oil with much less saturated fats than normal oil, and it is currently waiting to be