That transgenic plants are the order of the day is a fact. More and more of us inhabit this planet and, consequently, the demand for food grows more and more. Unless a fertilizer is invented that is capable of accelerating the growth rate of plants as much as possible, also increasing their productivity so that neither health nor the environment is harmed, transgenic will be present in our lives for many years. , perhaps for centuries.
But What are the advantages and disadvantages of transgenic plants? Are they really bad for consumption? How are they different from natural ones? Let's find out. 🙂
What is a biosimilar
First of all, it is important to know what transgenic plants are, also known as genetically modified plants. As well, are plants that contain one or more genes that have been transferred from other unrelated plants in a laboratory with one or more objectives: increase resistance to pests and / or diseases, make them more resistant to drought or excess humidity, increase productivity, etc.
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
Advantages
These are the ones we have discussed before: greater resistance to pests and diseases, better adaptability to the environment, improved production, among others, in addition to resisting the effect of herbicides.
Disadvantages
Although there are not many, it is convenient to take them into account:
- Appearance of allergies: When foreign genes are introduced, substances appear, such as bacterial proteins, which otherwise would not have entered the genetic material of the plants that are being worked on. This causes the number of allergy cases in humans to increase as the consumption of transgenic plants increases.
- Genetic instability: when a foreign gene is introduced into a genetic code that has been evolving for more than 200 million years, it is more than likely to destabilize, which can cause problems both in the plants themselves, making them weaker, and in humans, causing diseases.
- They do not produce seeds, or if they do, they are not viable: This is a very serious problem for the farmer as he will be forced to acquire only those seeds that the large agricultural companies provide him.
They're worth it?
Well, I think that a transgenic plant cannot be better than a natural plant. However, human beings have to eat 🙂, and natural plants cannot go faster than they go, because, although it sounds repetitive, it is not natural for them. So yes, I am convinced that GMOs can help us a lot in this regard, but still plant genetic engineering must be further refined to obtain plants that are totally harmless to health.