TASK: Discuss the potential benefits and possible harmful effects of one example of genetic modification

Genetically modified organism chosen as an example: A species of tomato that was genetically modified to be more tolerant to higher levels of salt in the soil. 

BENEFITS: 

-This would help farmers in improving food production globally (if the tomatoes are more resistant to higher levels of salt then this would make it easier to grow in more regions-now including regions of higher salinity). 

-Farmers can be more in control of what crops they produce because normally without genetic modification, farmers rely on the randomness in breeding. Therefore genetic modification makes the process less of a gamble and farmers are more likely to get a generation of tomato plants that are just as desirable (in this case resistant to high soil salinity). 

-can help people in developing nations who are starving because their soil is of high salinity therefore normally without genetic modification has how fertility. This genetically modified tomato will enable them to grow at least tomatoes which would reduce hunger to a degree. 

HARMFUL EFFECTS: 

-long term effects of these tomatoes in the wild. seeds from the genetically modified tomato may be eaten by animals and carried out of the area to neighboring fields. The genes from the genetically modified tomato could be integrated into wild species. These tomatoes may gain an unnatural advantage over other tomato species and have an advantage in taking over the habitat which would lead to the extinction of other tomato species in that area which could potentially affect the ecosystem if other animals feed on that particular species of tomato. 

-Also the genes could cross species. It has been proven possible that it is possible to cross genes in the laboratory and so there is a possibility in nature as well that the genes may cross species and potentially this could be harmful. (NOTE: gene leakage can occur across species in plants in general, so the risk is not only on tomato varieties but to other plants too as they can acquire the modified genes!)

-Risks for allergies: Someone could not be allergic to natural tomatoes but are allergic to genetically modified tomatoes. There is no convenient way to tell the difference (in other words cannot determine which tomato is genetically modified and which is not be simply looking at it) and this would be highly problematic for those who are allergic. 

-Large portions of the human food supply will be in the hands of a small number of organizations-  and this would be problematic if the human food supply is dependent upon a very small number of organizations and failure to effectively produce could have a global effect. As a large food supply being controlled by a very small number of organizations there is a greater chance that there would be a mistake that could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe. 

-Decrease in biodiversity- critics argue that the proliferation (rapid reproduction) of genetically modified tomatoes may lead to a decrease in biodiversity either because people stop growing natural tomatoes or the seeds of these tomatoes become integrated into the wild and have an unfair advantage over natural tomatoes (or a combination of both) leading to the possible extinction of natural tomatoes= reduction of biodiversity. Which could be problematic because if a disease to genetically modified tomatoes is introduced then potentially all the genetically modified tomatoes are vulnerable (as they have a similar genetic make up with a few variations due to random mutation) whereas if there was more diversity it is less likely that all tomatoes will be affected and in the event of a disease that kills a particular species we still have other species of tomato to turn to as another source of food. 

Citation: http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php