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H umans have been editing the genes of organisms for over thirty thousand
years. Our ancestors did what Charles Darwin called as the “selective
breeding” unknowingly. Selective breeding and Genetic engineering are
surely two very different things. Selected breeding can be considered as
predecessor to the modern processes. Dogs are a very good example of selective
breeding. Wild Wolves in East Asia joined human groups as foragers. They were
domesticated and artificially selected. Over time, due to reselection of certain
traits we have dogs now instead of wild wolves. Archeologists have found
evidence of artificial selection of plants that dates back to around 7800 BC in
Southwest Asia. Corn used to be wild grass called teosinte which had small ears
and few kernels but due to selective breeding, it now has large ears and more
kernels. But genetic engineering is different as it is a process of using recombinant
DNA technology to change the genetic makeup of an organism .It started when in
1866,Gregor Mendel bred two different type of peas and understood the basic
process of genetics. In 1973, biochemists Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen
became successful in engineering the first genetically engineered organism. The
organisms which are genetically engineered are called genetically modified
organisms (GMO). GMOs are but despite their numerous uses there are many
controversies surrounding them. GMOs as a technology are extremely beneficial
for humans which can be used to protect nature, solve our problems and
minimize our impact on the environment.
In agriculture, GMOs have played a major role in solving several problems. In
Bangladesh, pests destroyed the entire harvests. Farmers had to use pesticides
which caused health issues among them. To solve this problem, Bt containing egg
plants were introduced which also increased the income of farmers and
decreased the use of pesticides by eighty percent. Bt crops- crops having a gene
borrowed from Bacillus Thuringiensis which lets the plants to produce “cry
proteins” .Cry proteins destroy the digestive system of insects. Due to this ability,
many questions are raised about their safety. According to EPA, in 2001 several
tests were conducted the result of which showed that like other benign proteins,
cry proteins are also unstable in stomach. Researchers gave high dosage of cry
proteins to mice but no significant health impacts could be observed. Further
tests were done by just putting the toxic part of protein and still nothing
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dangerous could be observed. According to Annual Review of Entomology from

2002, it was concluded that Bt crops in fact save humans and animals from insect-
caused crop diseases. Doubts are raised about their safety towards environment.
According to USDA report, Bt usage is associated with lower insecticide use.
Surveys done between 1995-2010 reveal that the amount of pesticide used per
acre of corn decreased by 99% while insecticide used on cotton crops decreased
by 95%. In late 1990s, a controversy started around Bt crops that their high level
of pollen were toxic to the larvae of Monarch butterfly. It is true but only when
the larvae are exposed to high concentrations of Bt pollen which they are not
really going to be exposed to outside laboratories. Moreover, their larvae don’t
feed on cotton and corn crops so their chances of actually ingesting pollen is
nearly zero. In 1990s, the Papaya industry in Hawaii was at a risk of extinction due
to the “ringspot” virus. To prevent this from happening, scientists engineered
papaya vaccinated against the virus.
Another very common objection towards GM crops is that they can mix with
traditional crops and put unwanted characteristics into them. The first issue is
valid, some GM crops do mix with traditional cops but the problem is the
possibility of spread of only one type of genes. One such instance has been
documented in creeping bent grass commonly used on golf courses. The grass
was genetically engineered to be resistant to a common herbicide. Since this grass
is wind-pollinated, researchers decided to investigate wild grass for the presence
of herbicide resistant gene. Up to 9 miles, plants having resistant gene were
found. But cross-pollination is not possible in all crops and this issue can be
tackled by creating buffer zones around GM crops or terminator seeds can be
used. GM crops are also used in renewable fuels like ethanal and biodiesel.
In medical field, the insulin used for diabetes is also made by a process of genetic
engineering. Without this process, every year millions of cows and pigs would
have to be butchered and still a very small amount of insulin would be obtained
and it would be very expensive which would have limited its access to only a very
small population. Similarly, vaccines of many other diseases such as polio,
hepatitis A and B , tetanus etc… could not be made through conventional
methods but genetic engineering solved the problem.
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CRISPR is a revolutionary new technology that has decreased the cost and time it
takes to do genetic engineering. It is being used to find a cure for HIV. In 2015, an
experiment of cutting out HIV from living cells was done in rats simply by injecting
CRISPR. The result was a success. Trials in USA and China are being done to treat
cancer through CRISPR. Malaria and dengue have killed thousands of people all
over the world. The solution proposed for it is that scientists have engineered a
new population of mosquitoes immune to carrying parasites. The idea is to
release these mosquitoes into the environment. When they will mate with “un-
immune” mosquitoes, the resulting mosquitoes will also be immune to carrying
the parasites (this trait is made dominant through gene drive). In 2015, about
500,000 people died of malaria. This is already being put into practice in Sri lanka.
CRISPR can also be used to eradicate diseases in infants and adults through gene
editing. It can be done in infants during pregnancy and the infant would be free of
all inherited genetic diseases.
In chemical industries, soy is used as a lubricant and cleaner. In some preparatory
methods, soy oil which is genetically modified is used in place of formaldehyde
and petroleum and can be used in place of plywood and some paints. A well-
known scientist, Henry Ford used this genetically modifying technique and
invented soybean car whose plastic body was made of soybeans. His company to
this date uses soy foam in interior seating of car. According to a research paper
published in 1998, soy based products can be used as a good alternative for paper
and some plastic products. They conserve water and use less amount of
insecticide such as soy-based straws which are biodegradable.
In daily life, GMOs are helpful especially in laundry as our detergents consist of
enzymes that are genetically engineered. GMOs are affordable which is good for
poor farmers and will also reduce the nitrogen amount in the streams ,ocean,
soil. Without their use, food prices would be higher resulting in large number of
deaths due to starvation.
We can modify the livestock as we want to increase the growth rate, quality of
milk, milk composition and the survival rates. From above mentioned examples, it
can be observed as to how much humans are benefiting from GMOs. The
currently available food derived from the genetically modified crops poses no
threat to human life than the conventional food. If testing is done properly then
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the people will be more satisfied. People are concerned about its safety but don’t
understand what it actually is so it becomes easier for big organizations to trap
them into thinking that GMOs are unsafe.Hence,they oppose its usage. But
gradually people are being aware of its benefits and are using these techniques
to increase their yield. Most of the criticism which GMO receive is basically not on
the technology but our own proper usage and business practices. It is true that
their have been certain cases when problems arised due to GMOs such as the
round up plant, suspected to trigger allergic reactions but that too does not have
any strong evidence, suspected to be a cause of cancer for which no evidence has
been found by American Cancer Society. GMOs are going to be our future and
they might become the new “organic”. According to a UN estimate, eleven million
pounds of food is consumed per day in the world. By 2050, this amount is
expected to increase by 70% due to the increasing population. In order to meet
such large requirements, we can either clear our forest land or utilize the already
present farms and use genetic engineering to increase the yield. GMOs are not an
enemy but an ally and their use must be promoted in developing countries like
Pakistan.