Background of Transgenic Research essays

Background of Transgenic Research essays Genetic engineering has opened many doors for new sciences to develop. One such science is the research and alteration of the food we eat; this is commonly known as transgenic research. Whether through crops or agricultural animals, the common goal is to increase food surplus. Most of the GM (genetic modification) research is focused on causing crops to withstand herbicides and pesticides so more of these chemicals can be poured on the land without hurting the food. The national director of the BioDemocracy Campaign, Ronnie Cummins, lists that The leaders in biotechnology are the same giant chemical companiesMonsanto, DuPont, AgroEvo, Novartis, and Rhone-Poulencthat sell toxic pesticides. These companies sell crops that are resistant to their own herbicides and pesticides so they can sell those as well (115). This seems to be driven by the desire of money and profit gain. In a similar article, Brian Halweil observes that the seeds of these herbicide-resistant crops (HRCs), are packaged with Monsantos best selling herbicide, Roundup (143). The outcome for these GM crops is an increase of the use of toxic chemicals; this will at first cause a higher yield of grain, but will ultimately pollute our land With the main goal of transgenic research to cure world hunger, most people would be in favor if it did indeed meet the worlds food demand. Transgenic research is not the only way to treat the world hunger problem though. According to Norman Borlaug, in 1994 the world produced 5 billion metric tons of food, and if it had been distributed evenly, then a diet of 2,350 calories could have been distributed to 6.4 billion people for a year about 800 million more than the population of 1994 (134). This shows a major unbalance of food distribution to countries. The current solution taking place, instead of...