How is genetic modification used to solve pests in corn crops?

First and foremost, what is genetic modification?

Genetically Modified Organisms are organisms whose genes have been artificially modified, by taking genes from one organism and inserting that gene to another possibly entirely foreign organism. This process is also known as genetic engineering or modification, because it involves "engineering" an organism, modifying it to fit the scientist's specification. These said organisms can be any living thing, consisting of both plants and animals. In the past, artificial breeding was done, and scientists used this method to pass down a desired trait from a parent to the offspring. However, this method was unreliable, as the results were not guaranteed. Therefore, scientists created a process that we now call genetic modification, to produce what we now know as genetically modified organisms. This process results in organisms which contains carefully selected traits, which are selected by humans in order to produce a more consistent and overall better organism, for various purposes (farming, business, health). Nonetheless, as with everything else, genetic engineering has it's benefits and limitations, which has caused various divergent opinions to arise concerning health, economy, and ethics.

Genetic modification has it's great share of benefits. One of the biggest benefits of genetically modifying an organism is it's very efficient for farming, and for producing good crops. Genetic modifying is good for producing more crops, lower price for foods, better quality of crops, less pesticides, and therefore has a greater food safety. Genetic modifying has made it possible for various plants to be superior.  For instance corn is engineered to be more resistant to pests (insects that destroy crops). Plum is genetically modified in order to make it resistant to virus (plum pox virus). Canola is altered to make it's fatty acid content higher, hence causing a higher nutritional value. Genetic modification also enables crops to be more consistent and have an overall steady quality. In addition, genetically modified organisms are more efficient, and more crops can be harvested. What is the significance for higher production of crops? The importance is that this allows prices for food to be lower, and has a positive effect in regards to the economy.

Despite the current benefits of genetically modified organisms, there are some things that can be improved in the future. For example, the longterm effects of consuming genetically modified organisms are not verified yet. Altering the genes of an organism can cause transmutation in the organism's growth rate, metabolism, and various different disorders, which results in deformities. This means that food produced from these sources are not guaranteed to profit your health, defeating one of the initial purposes of modifying genes. Genetically modified organisms are present in various forms, including processed foods (byproducts of GMO includes tofu, bread, infant formula, etc). In addition, genetically modified organisms are fed to livestock such as cows and chickens, thus resulting their byproducts to contain traces of these altered genes as well. Meat, milk, cheese, eggs, and various other foods are made from these sources, ergo these foods are not certified to be nutritious nor salubrious.

                   

Genetic modifying triggers some ethical and religious issues to emerge, and many are trying to stop it because of their own reasons (as seen above). Essentially, genetic modifying raises concerns in regards to animal ethics, as it manipulates with animals. In most religions, it is believed that humans should be treasured and not exploited, what about animals? Some are alarmed by the harm genetic modifying causes to animals. That is because when animals are altered, their growth rate and body composition becomes incompatible, making it difficult for them to live healthy, decent lives. Animals are bred and genetically modified for the mere use of human consumption and satisfaction, which opposes many's views of ethics. Furthermore, others also think that it is not right to toy with the natural occurring world, and that genetic modification is primarily trying to revamp the human nature itself. 

"Horizontal gene transfer of pesticide, herbicide, or antibiotic resistance to other organisms would not only put humans at risk, but it would also cause ecological imbalances, allowing previously innocuous plants to grow uncontrolled, thus promoting the spread of disease among both plants and animals. Although the possibility of horizontal gene transfer between GMOs and other organisms cannot be denied, in reality, this risk is considered to be quite low. Horizontal gene transfer occurs naturally at a very low rate and, in most cases, cannot be simulated in an optimized laboratory environment without active modification of the target genome to increase susceptibility (Ma et al., 2003)."

• Horizontal gene transfer of pesticide, herbicide, or antibiotic resistance to other organisms would put humans at risk, cause ecological imbalances, allow plants to grow uncontrolled, and spread diseases among both plants and animals.
• Horizontal gene transfer among organisms are common, but the risk of things going wrong is quite low
• Horizontal gene transfer occurs naturally, and cannot be simulated in a lab without active modification of the target genome, to increase susceptibility.

Gene transfer regarding resistance of pesticide, herbicide, and antibiotics have negative effect on humans. In addition, it also creates imbalance to the ecosystem, causes plants to grow uncontrollably (cannot stop), and spreads diseases amongst various organisms. However, these negative effects rarely happens, and the risk for anything going wrong is relatively low. Horizontal gene transfer is a natural occurring process that happens, although rarely, and it cannot be imitated in a lab (unnatural environment), if not modified by genes, in order to activate the process

Sources:

• BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/using/biotechnology_1.shtml>.
• "Genetically Modified Organisms (by Susanna De Sousa)." Social Active. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2014. <http://socialactive.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/genetically-modified-organisms-by-susanna-de-sousa/>.
• "GMO Defined." GMO Awareness. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
• "GMO Defined." GMO Awareness. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fgmo-awareness.com%2Fall-about-gmos%2Fgmo-defined%2F>.
• "Nation of Change Creates Awareness Campaign About GMO Producer Monsanto." AZGREEN MAGAZINE RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://azgreenmagazine.com/wordpress/2012/03/nation-of-change-creates-awareness-campaign-about-gmo-producer-monsanto/>.
• "Nation of Change Creates Awareness Campaign About GMO Producer Monsanto." AZGREEN MAGAZINE RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://azgreenmagazine.com/wordpress/2012/03/nation-of-change-creates-awareness-campaign-about-gmo-producer-monsanto/>.
• Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetically-modified-organisms-gmos-transgenic-crops-and-732>.
• "Who's Afraid of the GMO? Valid Concerns or Food Safety Bogeymen?" Who's Afraid of the GMO? Valid Concerns or Food Safety Bogeymen? N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://info.abcr.com/Blog/bid/333639/Who-s-afraid-of-the-GMO-Valid-concerns-or-food-safety-bogeymen>.