Environmental impact of genetically modified crops.

Chapter 2 (Page no: 23)

Environmental benefits of genetically modified crops.

Modern agriculture is challenged with an extremely difficult task where it must produce more food to support the expansion of the global population, with less synthetic inputs and without increasing its global footprint. A crucial factor in the expansion of the global population to its current levels was the advances initiated by the development of improved varieties and increased use of fertilizer, irrigation and synthetic pesticides during the Green Revolution. While the ability of pesticides (insecticides and pesticides) to reduce crop losses must be recognized, their potential negative effects on public health, with particular emphasis in developing countries, and the environment cannot be ignored nor allowed to continue unchecked. The response of the agricultural industry in bringing forward new precision farming technology, such as reduced application rates of targeted pesticides with lower toxicity and persistency, has some limited benefit. However, with an increasing world population, a slowing of the rate of crop improvement through conventional breeding and a declining area of land available for food production, there is a need for new technologies to produce more food of improved nutritional value in an environmentally acceptable and sustainable manner. In addition, there is also pressure to ensure that adoption of new techniques will actually benefit our agricultural environment. One answer to these challenges is through the use of genetically modified crops, and it is with a rational and thoughtful introduction of this technology that our agricultural systems can continue to support the global communities for generations to come.

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