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Essay On Genetic Engineering In Agriculture

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The introduction of genetic engineering in agriculture in the late 20th century has brought significant changes in the farming world. There is significant controversy surrounding the topic, the main issue being that there is not enough research into the effects of genetic engineering. The scientific breakthroughs in genetic engineering brought revolution in agriculture, allowing farmers to produce crops that are resistant to pests and herbicides. This created efficiency and higher amounts of food for larger populations, an attempt at battling starvation.
Genetic engineering is the process of extracting DNA from one organism and transforming it in some way to create recombinant DNA (rDNA) and inserting this DNA into another organism. Genetic …show more content…

An example of genetic engineering being used in this situation is when Pamela Ronald and her colleagues were able to create an improvement for rice farmers around the world, as around 70 million of them were struggling to grow enough rice, because of the flooding in their farms. Flooding in rice farms is an increasing issue due to climate change’s impact on water levels. Pamela Ronald was able to do this by modifying a gene in the rice by using another type of rice that was able to withstand eighteen days completely submerged in water. It was tested in a rice field, flooded for 17 days. The modified rice produced three and a half times more rice than the unmodified type. Economically, genetic engineering allows farmers to produce more crop, and yield gains bring a higher profit. From 1996 to 2012, genetic engineering in soybeans allowed farms $30 billion of extra profit. This is because of both yield gains and cost savings - farmers no longer have to spend as much money on weed control. Particularly farmers in Asia and Africa live on very little money. In developing countries, farmers do not have access to pest control, making genetic engineering a success in these farms, as they no longer have to struggle with these outside factors causing death in their

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