Genetically Modified Organisms

Benefits
- Crops
+Enhanced taste and quality
+Increased nutrients
+Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides
+New products and growing techniques
-Animals
+Increased resistance and productivity
+Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
+Improved animal health
-Environment
+Conservation of soil, water, and energy
+Bioprocessing for forestry products
+Better natural waste management
+More efficient processing
-Society
+Increased food security for growing populations

Controversies
-Safety
-Access and Intellectual Property
+Domination of world food production by a few companies
+Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries
-Ethics
+Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
+Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
+Stress for animal
+Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
-Society
+New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries

Potential Environmental Impacts

+unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity