Genetically modified crops – A potential risk for sustainable agriculture

Abstract

The concept of sustainability applied to agriculture has developed mainly as a result of growing awareness of negative impacts of intensive agriculture production systems on the environment and the quality of life. Intensive agriculture systems are based on genetically uniform crops which can be susceptible to various diseases and insect pests. Genetically modified (GM) crops have been developed in an attempt to expedite the process of crop improvement for food quality and solve some of the problems associated with commercial agriculture, including disease and weed management. The introduction of GM crops into agriculture has opened a great debate about their safety with respect to possible long-term adverse effects on the environment, human health and sustainability of this new agricultural technology. Environmental safety issues focus on the direct or indirect effects of GM crops on non-target organisms and the transfer of GM traits to populations of wild plants via gene flow. Food safety concerns relate to the potential allergenicity of food products. Herbicide tolerant Roundup Ready (RR) soybean is the dominant GM crop occupying 50% of the global biotech area. It is one of seven transgenic soybean lines authorized for the EU market, none of those for cultivation. The most serious problem for farmers who grow RR soybean is the outbreak of glyphosate-resistant weeds, or “superweeds” which can lead to overuse of selective broad-leaf herbicides or herbicide mixtures.