Advantages and disadvantages of biotechnology

GMO - Genetically modified organisms


Benefits and Risks
Advantages
Key benefits of biotechnology are:
·
Superior performance. By GMO crop yield increases, giving more food for fewer resources, reducing crop losses as well as environmental factors

• Reduced pesticide Whenever a GMO is modified to resist a particular pest is helping to reduce pesticide use associated with it that often cause widespread environmental damage and health. ^[

• Improved nutrition can be reached by introducing vitamins and protein on food and reduce the allergens and natural toxins. You can also try to grow in extreme conditions as auxiliaries to the countries that have less food available.

Improves the development of new materiales.La application of biotechnology poses risks that may be classified into two categories: the effects on the health of the monkeys that are human, animal and environmental consequences



Environmental risks

Other environmental risks arising from widespread use of genetically modified crops with genes that produce insecticidal toxins such as the gene from Bacillus thuringiensis This can develop a resistance gene in insect populations exposed to GM crops. There may also be risks to species that are not the target, such as birds and butterflies plants with insecticidal genes [23].
You can also lose biodiversity for example, as a result of displacement of traditional crops by a small number of genetically modified crops. "[4]

Health Risks

There are risks of transferring toxins from one life form to another, creating new toxins or of transferring allergenic compounds from one species to another, which could result in unexpected allergic reactions [4].
There is a risk that modified bacteria and viruses escaping from high-security laboratories and infect human or animal population [24].
Biological agents are classified according to risk of infection in four groups: [25]
· Agents biological group 1: one that is unlikely to cause disease in humans.
· Agents biological group 2: one that can cause disease in humans and may pose a hazard to workers, making it unlikely to spread to the community and prophylaxis or effective treatment.
· Agents biological group 3: one that can cause severe human disease and presents a serious hazard to workers, threatening to spread to the community and there is usually effective prophylaxis or effective treatment.
· Agents biological group 4: one that causes severe disease in humans is a serious hazard to workers, with many likely to be spread to the community, and there's usually effective prophylaxis or effective treatment.