Genetic engineering in plants
Genetic engineering in plants is much easier than in animals. because plants are easy to manipulate, they grow quickly and they there already is a bacteria (Agrobacterium tumefaciens) that can naturally genetically engineer plants. This means there are many more strides in genetically engineered plants for example, several crops that we eat are already genetically modified organisms (GMO). Even though genetically engineering plants is easier than animals, it is still quite difficult, so why do we do it? I believe we do it for two reasons, first to create stronger plants that resistance to diseases, bugs and drought. The second reason is because scientist are bored, and/or they are just curious to see what happens if they mix an apple and grape, hence the creation of the grapple (Image to the left).
Over 400 million arces of farmland worldwide are being used to grow genetically engineered (GE) crops. In America, GE soybeans, corn and cotton make up 93%, 88% and 94% of the total amount of those crops grow, that means a very little percentage was truly not genetically altered. Most of the GE crops grown are engineered to be resistant to pesticides and/or herbicides. They do this so that the crop fields can be sprayed with weed killer, and every plant will die other than the crops. Other benefits that GE crops can have are they are more nutritious for example, rice is a staple food for many countries but rice lacks vitamin A. In third world countries that normally only eat rice and cannot afford to get vitamin A rich foods suffer the affects of a lack of vitamin A. Some examples are people can get a condition that causes blindness, become more susceptible to diarrhea, respiratory infections and childhood diseases. So through genetic engineering, scientist found a way to introduce a rice produce with vitamin A. Some other things that GE crops can be engineered to do is, to be less susceptible to diseases, have the crops grow faster, extend the shelf life of crops, and make crops able to grow in unfavorable conditions.
Over 400 million arces of farmland worldwide are being used to grow genetically engineered (GE) crops. In America, GE soybeans, corn and cotton make up 93%, 88% and 94% of the total amount of those crops grow, that means a very little percentage was truly not genetically altered. Most of the GE crops grown are engineered to be resistant to pesticides and/or herbicides. They do this so that the crop fields can be sprayed with weed killer, and every plant will die other than the crops. Other benefits that GE crops can have are they are more nutritious for example, rice is a staple food for many countries but rice lacks vitamin A. In third world countries that normally only eat rice and cannot afford to get vitamin A rich foods suffer the affects of a lack of vitamin A. Some examples are people can get a condition that causes blindness, become more susceptible to diarrhea, respiratory infections and childhood diseases. So through genetic engineering, scientist found a way to introduce a rice produce with vitamin A. Some other things that GE crops can be engineered to do is, to be less susceptible to diseases, have the crops grow faster, extend the shelf life of crops, and make crops able to grow in unfavorable conditions.
Some of the crops that are genetically engineered foods that have been approved for commercial use are: alfalfa, corn, cotton, papayas, canola, rice, soybeans, squash and sugar beet. There are many more GE crops that are being approved and have been approved but are not on the market.