Environmental risk and biosafety of genetically modified plants

Abstract

Genetic engineering and biotechnology research have produced novel plant and animal products that benefit humankind. This review assesses the environmental risk and biosafety of genetically modified crops. Debates on the advantages and disadvantages of genetically modified crops have a significant impact on public discourse around them. Biotechnology advocates emphasize how it may treat illnesses, prevent malnutrition, lessen hunger, and enhance general health and quality of life. However, there are a lot of issues to biotechnology with some critics oppose it on moral and ethical grounds, others claim that it poses threats to human health and the environment. Agricultural goods that are herbicides resistant and can withstand abiotic challenges like salinity, high temperatures, frost, and drought as well as biological pressures can be produced via genetic modification. Products utilizing gene-editing technology have generated debate and raised questions about the possible dangers of applying these novel methods to genetic alteration for the environment and general public's health. Regarding the evaluation and risk management of genetically modified organisms, there is no definitive consensus. Numerous accords have been released that emphasize the need of biosafety in safeguarding biodiversity; the most significant of them is the United Nations Convention, known as the Cartagena-Columbia Protocol on Biosafety, which was issued in 2000. Despite the potential and enormous benefits of biotechnologies, the issue of the products of these technologies is receiving great international attention due to the potential risks they could pose to human health and the environment.