Write an essay that supports the genetic modification of plants .
The estimated ARMS effect indicates a 17-percent increase in yields for herbicide-tolerant cotton adopters nationwide. In some regions, herbicide-tolerant cotton yields may have been lower than for conventional varieties. In particular, farmers in the Mississippi Portal encountered serious and unexpected problems with their herbicide-tolerant cotton during the 1997 growing season (Virginia Cooperative Extension). Some growers found deformed bolls and bolls that dropped off the plants. About 20 percent of the region’s herbicide-tolerant cotton was affected. However, the problems may have been caused by factors other than the herbicide-tolerant technology itself, such as soil type and weather conditions.
(One study found a 17% increase in cotton yields using a genetically modified variety.)
—Gregory Price, William Lin, José Falck-Zepeda, and Jorge Fernandez-Cornejo. “Size and Distribution of Market Benefits From Adopting Biotech Crops.” United States Department of Agriculture. November 2003.
Source:
Many of the foods that are already common in our diet are obtained from plant varieties that were developed using conventional genetic techniques of breeding and selection. Hybrid corn, nectarines (which are genetically altered peaches), and tangelos (which are a genetic hybrid of a tangerine and grapefruit) are all examples of such breeding and selection. … Bioengineered foods and food ingredients (including food additives) must adhere to the same standards of safety under the Act that apply to their conventional counterparts. This means that these products must be as safe as the traditional foods in the market.
—James H. Maryanski,
“Genetically Engineered Foods,”
Statement before the Subcommittee on Basic Research and House Committee on Science,
October 19, 1999
Prompt: Write a thesis statement for your argument.