The benefits of GMOs can be great for humanity. GMOs could feed the hungry of the world by reducing the cost of production, and allowing a greater yield of crop. The benefits of GMOs can be great for the environment too. They escape “environmental pollution due to the indiscriminate use of pesticides and herbicides,” and can produce plants able to “overcome the limitations of species incompatibility” through the creation of elite plants (Khan et al. 6).
Yet, these benefits can also create longer-lasting problems within the environment. The unnatural evolution of plants, caused by man-made trait selection, can result in a lack of biodiversity. Earlier forms of genetic transformation, such as grafting, allowed for a more gradual and natural evolution. This new process of genetic modification leaves no room for natural development, creating a loss of true biodiversity. Instead, diversity is lost to the discretion of men.
More so than the loss of biodiversity, genetic pollution can also occur.
“…genetically engineered plants could transfer via pollination their acquired traits to related wild plants, including related weeds… If the transferred trait conferred a selective advantage, it would likely spread, potentially exacerbating weediness. Secondly, the safety of fods derived from transgenic plants, particularly those engineered to express pesticidal substances, must be confirmed”
— Rebecca J. Goldburg, D. Douglas Hopkins, Addressing Environmental Risks of Commercializing Herbicide-Tolerant Plants: EPA Options for Regulating Herbicide-Tolerant Plants Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
Furthermore, the invulnerability of plants may create a backlash from nature itself, through the creation of super weeds and super pests.
“It has been shown that genetically modified Bt endotoxin remains in the soil at least 18 months and can be transported to wild plants creating superweeds – resistant to butterfly, moth, and beetle pests — potentially disturbing the balance of nature. (Khan et al. 8)”
Not all giant bugs will be as nice, source
Furthermore, there is a potential that pests will evolve to match the invulnerability of GMOs. These super pests can either be uncontrolled by humans, or controlled through the use of herbicides deadlier than those needed for unmodified plants. This overuse of herbicide can also lead to soil toxicity, and/or soil pollution. This also creates a hazard for insects beneficial to the environment. Furthermore,
“HTPs arguably have the greatest potential to cause environmental degradation. Use of a chemical herbicide to control agricultural weeds is often limited by the sensitivity of a crop to the herbicide. Herbicide tolerant plants are designed to remove this limitation, and thus are designed specifically to encourage application of their “companion” herbicides.”
— Rebecca J. Goldburg, D. Douglas Hopkins, Addressing Environmental Risks of Commercializing Herbicide-Tolerant Plants: EPA Options for Regulating Herbicide-Tolerant Plants Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
So, while GMOs are meant to create environmental benefits, there are a great and many potential to destroy the environment. While some forms of environmental pollutions are avoided, others present in their wake. The overuse of herbicide alone presents many potential hazards, from soil toxicity, to the destruction of beneficial pests. The immunity of GMOs can create a backlash of equally immune pests and weeds alike. These are but a few of the problems GMOs present for the environments they are introduced into.