ETHICAL ISSUES
Environmental effects are some of the most concerning. There are various questions about the effects on animals living in the surrounding environments and habitats of GM crop fields. Though humans show no immediate side effects from the consumption of GMOs, many believe that birds, insects, and various mammals may be negatively affected due to a new and strange twist to their diets. However, the reality is unknown and the lack of knowledge is what makes the risks only potential.
GM crops also have the potential to compete with natural, non-GM plants, thus threatening the biodiversity of differing environments. A decrease in biodiversity would negatively affect the food chains and webs in each area, hence leading to an imbalance in nature.
A positive aspect of GM crops is the increase of producers which has the potential to lead to an increase in primary and secondary consumers. Therefore, more species would be able to survive. However, some primary consumers can only live off of specific producers and are unable to adapt to changes in the food chain. Even so, the extent of effect to this speculation is undetermined.
Simply said, "it’s not nice to fool mother nature” (Schulman, 2000).The point is that we are not aware of the exact effects that GMOs can have on the environment and it becomes bothersome. The natural man feels secure when well-informed about potentially dangerous procedures or new products. When this security is not present, people often have a sense of insecurity and discomfort.
Many ethical related issues affect individuals’ decisions to accept or reject the existence of GMOs in markets and consumption by the human body.
Another ethical concern is that the environment could be contaminated from traveling pollination. There is no way to completely control the travel path of pollen as wind carries it indiscriminately to various locations. This means that pollen from GM plants may actually interfere with the many diverse plants located around GM crop fields. By pollinating other non-GMO plants, which is commonly known as cross pollination, the plants could breed hybrids that contain characteristics from both the GM plant and the original plant. Properties of genetic modification would thus be instilled into the environment and animals that would consume these hybrids may end up suffering negative changes.