DISADVANTAGES OF

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

Harmful to environment.
Harmful to humans.
Give rise to 'super weeds'.
'Super weeds' dominate the fields and affect main crops.
Genes from the genetically modified food could be transferred
to the pests which can make them become resistant to the
pesticides and the pesticides become useless.
Geneticly modified corn pollen has affected the Monarch
butterfly caterpillars has been horroific. It harms the Monarch
larva and brought the Monarch butterfly population down.



British scientific researchers demonstrated that genetically modified DNA from
crops can find its way into human gut bacteria, raising possible health concerns.
This is because antibiotic-resistant marker genes are inserted with GM material,
which could cause a person to be resistant to antibiotic medicines.
Allergenicity: Many children in the US and Europe have developed life-threatening
allergies ot peanuts and other foods. There is a possibility that introducing a gene
into a plant may create a new allergen, causing an allergic reaction in susceptible
individuals. An example of this was seen in the incorporation of a gene from Brazil
nuts into soybeans . A proposed solution for this is extensive FDA testing of all
GM foods.
Unknown effects on human health: There is a concern that introducing foreign
genes into food plants may have an unexpected and negative impact on human
health. The effects of GM potatoes on the digestive tracts in rats concluded that
there were appreciable negative differences in the intestines of rats fed GM
potatoes compared to those fed unmodified potatoes.
Some studies have shown that it may affect the human digestive system in a
number of ways. The incorporation of substances that may interact badly with one
another in food or in fact be poisonous to people may happen. The modification of
certain genes may make some plant substances difficult to digest at all.






EFFECT ON HUMANS
Genetic modification can also make it difficult to know what you are eating,
as a plant could contain animals products via genetic engineering. This
could cause issues for those with dietary restrictions and religious
commitments.
Loss of nutritional value.
Reduction of the efficiency of antibiotics.
New viruses could evolve from the mass production of GM crops.
The more that gene technology is used, the worse the environment will
become.
Humans do not have the right to genetically alter nature for their own
convienience and profit.
GM crops produce religious complications.
Vegetarians and Vegans may find it offensive to put animal genes into
plants.
Too much money spent on Gene Technology could have been spent on
other things.
No assurances of public liability for Farmers of GM crops

EFFECT ON ANIMALS
Changing plants may have lasting effects on other organisms in the
ecosystem. The change in a plant may cause it to be toxic to an insect
or animal that uses it as its main food source.{ANIMAL}
Due to the widespread use of insect resistant genes in crops the
insects may become resistant to the genetic modifications. This would
cause a widespread loss of crops and plants that have the natural
immunity leading to a loss in biodiversity.{ANIMALS}
Breeding and cross pollination across unintended species could occur
resulting in things such as insect resistant weeds.
Pests may develop resistance to GM crops that have been designed to
kill them.
GM crops may cause harm to the wealth and welfare of animals.
GM crops may produce ecological side effects (Monarch butterfiles).
INTENDED HARM TO OTHER ORGANISMS -
Pollen from B.t. corn caused high mortality rates in monarch butterfly
caterpillars. Monarch caterpillars consume milkweed plants, not corn, but
the fear is that if pollen from B.t. corn is blown by the wind onto milkweed
plants in the neighboring fields, the caterpillars could eat the pollen and die
. Unfortunately, B.t. pollen kills many species of insect larvae
indiscriminately, so it is not possible to design a strain to kill only harmful
pests.
EDUCED EFFECRTIVENESS OF PESTICIDES:
Just as some populations of mosquitoes developed resistance to DDT, many
people are concerned that insects will become resistant to B.t. or other crops
that have veen genetically modified to produce their own pesticides.
GENE TRANSFER TO NON TARGET SPECIES
Crop plants engineered for herbicide tolerance and weeds can cross=breed,
resulting in the transfer of the herbicide resistance genes from the crops into
the weeds. These would then be herbicide tolerant as well. Other
introduced genes may cross over into non-modified crops planted near GM
crops.
Economic Concerns
Bringing a GM food to market is a lengthy and costly process. Many new plant genetic
engineering technologies and GM plants have been patented. Consumer advocates are
worried that patenting these new plant varieties will raise the price of seeds so high that
small farmers and third world conuntries will not be able to afford seeds for GM crops,
widening the gap between the wealthy and poor.