Should We Use GMO Crops - by James

GMO crops (genetically modified crops) are crops that had some of its DNA altered to change it to have things that benefits us that aren’t in normal crops. Sounds like a positive thing right? Yet people still see things that aren't so good about them. Should we stop this technology from being put to use?

Well i believe we should use GMO crops. My first reason is that GM crop have benefits that aren’t in normal crops. For example, being poisonous to insect pests; the insects that try to eat it die. That sounds alarming! Insect sprays can be washed off while the poison in the GM crop is inside the plant! But actually, it’s not a big deal. Poison is really just a matter of perspective, what’s harmless to one animal, may kill another. Take chocolate for example, it’s dangerous for dogs, but a treat for humans. The crops are designed to destroy the digestive system of the certain insect pests. It’s completely harmless to us. This is important because sometimes the insects can destroy a ton of crops.

To add on, GM seeds can yield more crops per seed (Grow more crops.) There are also GM crops with more or additional nutrients, like fruit with higher antioxidant levels that help fight diseases, or rice with additional vitamins. This is important because with these new foods we could help improve our diets.On top of that, we can make crops more resistant to climate change giving them a better chance at surviving droughts or floods. This is important because if a farm got flooded, i’m pretty sure the crops would die.

My second reason we should use GMO crops is that sometimes GMO crops are the only option. For example, Eggplant is an important crop in Bangladesh, but often whole harvests were destroyed by insect pests. Farmers had to use sprays a lot. This was expensive and got farmers sick. The new GM eggplant in 2013 stopped this (it was modified to be poisonous to the insect pests but not humans.) The farmers health improved, and their income rose much higher. This is important because it was whole harvests that were being destroyed, which is pretty serious. Another example is that in the 1990’s, the papaya industry in Hawaii was being destroyed by the ringspot virus. When papaya made to be vaccinated against  the virus were created, Hawaiian Papaya was saved. This is important because if they didn’t make that new papaya the papaya industry would’ve collapsed.

My final reason we should use GMO crops is that they can help protect the environment. For example, scientists are on crops that collect nitrogen from the air. Nitrogen is a common fertilizer but it’s build up pollutes the groundwater and speeds up climate change. Plants that collect their own nitrogen can solve this problem. We can even make plants super effective carbon collectors to slow down or even stop climate change. This is important because there are animals that are or will be vulnerable to climate change (like polar bears.)

GMO crops can not only have more nutrients and be immune to insects and disease and have other things that benefit us, but also dampen our effects on the environment.