What is the difference between GM and traditional forms of Breeding?
For millennia farmers and crop breeders have developed new crop varieties using traditional techniques through selection and breeding, reflecting the grand diversity of local climatic conditions, soil types, cultures, etc. Traditional and organic crops systems are a mosaic of diverse crops that offer the best bet to maintain ecological equilibrium and social equity. Genetically Modified crops imply the crossing of two unlike organisms that cannot bread naturally, through the practice of genetic engineering. Unlike traditional crops, GM crops are genetically identical, most are often employed in vast monocultures (fields of a single crop variety) and generally dependent upon agrochemicals and intensive irrigation. Genetic engineering at this point is inherently dangerous, utilizing material and techniques that may provoke allergic reactions, unexpected toxicity and antibiotic resistance.
