Environmental Risks and Benefits of Transgenic Plants

شیرخانقاه, شهرام and اصغری زکریا, رسول and عبدپور, علیرضا Environmental Risks and Benefits of Transgenic Plants. In: 2nd International and 6th National Iranian Congress on Organic vs. Conventional Agriculture, August 2019, Ardabil, Iran.

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Abstract

One of the innovations in agriculture and plant biology is transgenic plants. Transgenic plants are the product of biotechnology. The term biotechnology was first coined by Carl Orkel in the sense of the application of the biological sciences and their interactions to human-made technologies. To date, the commercial growth of transgenic crops has been rapid, and farmers have planted nearly 185 million hectares of genetically modified crops worldwide. Most transgenic plants growing are resistant to herbicides or insects, but research on other aspects is ongoing. There are potentially significant environmental impacts of this technology, as well as completely contradictory claims about its overall impact. Among the potential hazards, this study focuses on the probability of damage to ecosystem services (biological control, pollination, soil fertility management) and its effects on biodiversity. Benefits include reducing environmental pollution by reducing pesticide use programs, reducing soil erosion by reducing repeated agricultural operations, and lower pressure on land resources due to increased yields. Both the risks and the potential benefits require careful documentation and validation to properly evaluate the overall environmental impact of the technology.

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