What is the debate surrounding GMOs?
Right now the vast majority of GM crops (approximately two-thirds) are designed to tolerate herbicides. The company Monsanto dominates this technology, having introduced the first major GMO product, “Roundup Ready” soybeans, in 1996. The “Roundup Ready” soybeans are designed to withstand the company’s own Roundup herbicide. The next most common crop is Bt corn, which is inserted with a gene from the Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt, and gives the plants a toxic protein that kills the corn borer pests. The debate surrounding GMOs is about whether or not genetically engineered foods can help improve the situation for the world’s hungry by providing people with nutritional foods in a manner that is sustainable and has the least possible impact on the environment and on health. To assess this fundamental question, scientists, policy makers and the public alike have to ask themselves whether or not GM foods are safe to eat and whether or not biotechnology can increase food yields and biodivers
