ABSTRACT
The use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), both plants and animals, in agriculture has resulted in an acrimonious debate. The widespread planting of genetically modified (GM) crops has generated contention around such issues as health, the environment, economics, international relations, the business practices of large corporations and ethics, among others. One of the most active areas of debate is the potential effect of GM agriculture on the environment (NRC Board on Agriculture Report, 2002). The debate is highly polarized with one extreme claiming that GM agriculture will greatly harm both global agriculture and the environment. Strong advocates, on the other hand, maintain that there are few, if any, new risks and that GM crops may, in fact, be the saviour of both global agriculture and the environment. As with many highly polarized debates, there is a vast middle ground that, in the case of GM agriculture, acknowledges the great potential of biotechnology but also raises science-based concerns. An unfortunate aspect of the controversy is the tendency to see the issue in either black or white; biotechnology is either good or bad. In fact, biotechnology involves many species, both plants and animals, with a wide range of genetic modifications that are placed in a diversity of agricultural and natural systems located across a wide range of geographical sites. Whether or not an application of biotechnology has potentially harmful, beneficial or neutral effects on the environment is both species and context specific.
