The Pros
1. Tackling and Defeating Diseases
Some of the most deadly and difficult diseases in the world that have so resisted destruction could be wiped out by the use of genetic engineering.
2. Getting Rid of All Illnesses in Young and Unborn Children
There are many problems that we can detect even before children are born. In the womb, doctors can tell whether your baby is going to suffer from sickle cell anemia, for instance, or from Down’s syndrome. All children would be able to be born healthy and strong, with no diseases or illnesses present at birth. This also enables potential to live longer. Because of the advances in modern medical science, genetic engineering could make our life on Earth even longer. There are specific, common illnesses and diseases that can take hold later in life and can end up killing us earlier than necessary.
3. Produce New Foods
Genetic engineering is not just good for people. With genetic engineering, we can design foods that are better able to withstand harsh temperatures and that are packed full of all the right nutrients that humans and animals need to survive. We may also be able to make our foods have a better medicinal value, thus introducing edible vaccines readily available to people all over the world.
5. Organisms Can be ‘Tailor-Made’
Genetic engineering can make alterations in the organisms to show desirable characteristics. Genes can also be manipulated in trees that they absorb more CO2 and reduce the threat of global warming. Disease-carrying insects, such as mosquitoes, may also be changed to sterile insects to curb the spread of diseases, specifically malaria.
The Cons
1. It is Morally and Ethically Dubious
Genetic engineering operates in what many would call a grey area. Not only does it go against the beliefs of many religions, it also undermines the basic tenants of evolution, princely, the survival of the fittest. Many people have questioned if it is right that man should be allowed to ‘play God’ and tamper with genes through genetic engineering.
2. It Can Disrupt the Ecological Balance
When organisms’ genes are tampered with the whole web of life is affected. This is because each organism is an integral part of a larger ecosystem and does not exist in isolation. Tampering with one organism could disrupt the entire ecological balance.
3. There is No Adequate Government Oversight
In an area of technology which is so controversial, it doesn’t help that there is very little government oversight. This is because governments want to encourage advances in biotechnology.
4. It Increase the Use of Harmful Chemicals in Agriculture
Genetically modified organisms are made to be resistant to pesticides and herbicides. While the GMOs themselves are protected, these chemicals need to be used to combat diseases and pests which could attack the crops. These eventually build up resistances of their own, requiring more potent chemicals to be used. This toxic cycle results in harmful substances building up in crops which can have a variety of detrimental effects on health.
5. It Undermines Genetic Diversity
Diversity is an essential aspect of life as we know it. By genetically engineering organisms, we attack and reduce that diversity. The long term effects of eliminating or reducing genetic diversity cannot be known, and that uncertainty could prove to be dangerous.
1. Tackling and Defeating Diseases
Some of the most deadly and difficult diseases in the world that have so resisted destruction could be wiped out by the use of genetic engineering.
2. Getting Rid of All Illnesses in Young and Unborn Children
There are many problems that we can detect even before children are born. In the womb, doctors can tell whether your baby is going to suffer from sickle cell anemia, for instance, or from Down’s syndrome. All children would be able to be born healthy and strong, with no diseases or illnesses present at birth. This also enables potential to live longer. Because of the advances in modern medical science, genetic engineering could make our life on Earth even longer. There are specific, common illnesses and diseases that can take hold later in life and can end up killing us earlier than necessary.
3. Produce New Foods
Genetic engineering is not just good for people. With genetic engineering, we can design foods that are better able to withstand harsh temperatures and that are packed full of all the right nutrients that humans and animals need to survive. We may also be able to make our foods have a better medicinal value, thus introducing edible vaccines readily available to people all over the world.
5. Organisms Can be ‘Tailor-Made’
Genetic engineering can make alterations in the organisms to show desirable characteristics. Genes can also be manipulated in trees that they absorb more CO2 and reduce the threat of global warming. Disease-carrying insects, such as mosquitoes, may also be changed to sterile insects to curb the spread of diseases, specifically malaria.
The Cons
1. It is Morally and Ethically Dubious
Genetic engineering operates in what many would call a grey area. Not only does it go against the beliefs of many religions, it also undermines the basic tenants of evolution, princely, the survival of the fittest. Many people have questioned if it is right that man should be allowed to ‘play God’ and tamper with genes through genetic engineering.
2. It Can Disrupt the Ecological Balance
When organisms’ genes are tampered with the whole web of life is affected. This is because each organism is an integral part of a larger ecosystem and does not exist in isolation. Tampering with one organism could disrupt the entire ecological balance.
3. There is No Adequate Government Oversight
In an area of technology which is so controversial, it doesn’t help that there is very little government oversight. This is because governments want to encourage advances in biotechnology.
4. It Increase the Use of Harmful Chemicals in Agriculture
Genetically modified organisms are made to be resistant to pesticides and herbicides. While the GMOs themselves are protected, these chemicals need to be used to combat diseases and pests which could attack the crops. These eventually build up resistances of their own, requiring more potent chemicals to be used. This toxic cycle results in harmful substances building up in crops which can have a variety of detrimental effects on health.
5. It Undermines Genetic Diversity
Diversity is an essential aspect of life as we know it. By genetically engineering organisms, we attack and reduce that diversity. The long term effects of eliminating or reducing genetic diversity cannot be known, and that uncertainty could prove to be dangerous.