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Transgenic plants:
Successes and controversies
Alfred O. Ubalua
Microbiology/Tissue Culture laboratories, National Root Crops
Research Institute (NRCRI), Umudike, P. M. B 7006 Umuahia,
Abia State, Nigeria.
E-mail:
alfreduba@yahoo.com.
Accepted
5 October, 2009 |
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Applications of herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers have
greatly increased crop yields in the past. More recently,
however, crop yields are barely keeping up with world
growth, hence the need for new approaches. Agricultural
biotechnology may likely play a key role in the race to feed
the world’s expanding population with fewer inputs and on
less and less available land. Genetic engineering of plants
represents the next stage of evolution in our continuing
efforts to improve plants used for the production of food
and animal feed. Agricultural biotechnology is a powerful
technique offering great potential for agricultural
sustainability and safe production of foods with increased
nutritive value, improved flavour, prolonged freshness, and
even disease-fighting properties, but it is not without
controversy. The potential for the transgenic crops to
alleviate human hunger, and the controversies which are
invariably based on visions of the new technology from
widely different ethical perspective which have divided both
the public and the scientific communities are discussed.
But, critical to its adoption and acceptance is by providing
choice and accurate information to consumers from
scientists, policy makers, industry and the press. The
present review addresses the prospects of the technology,
and the polemics concerning its adoption.
Key
words:
Transgene, pharmaceutical crops, risks, prospects and
controversies. |
