What's more, genetic modification is, in fact, very much the same as evolution, but simply speeded up. Its risks are largely misunderstood, and usually wildly exaggerated. Its benefits could be dazzling. Many minds in this country and in the European Union generally are no longer open. It concluded that there is no significant difference between GM plants and similar plants created using traditional cross-breeding.
Biotechnology can reduce farmers' reliance on chemicals.
The report dealt with many of the common fears about biotechnology, including the scares about the monarch butterfly, antibiotic resistance, allergens, cross-breeding with nearby plants and so on, and concluded that GM plants and foods pose no greater risks than those developed through traditional methods. In fact, according to this report, biotech procedures allow for much more careful control and monitoring of risk than classical breeding techniques. One of the most exciting things about biotechnology is that it is actually very green. GM plants can produce higher yields, in less favourable climates, with less ploughing, less fertiliser and less insecticide, or less toxic insecticide. That means less pollution, less soil erosion, less soil exhaustion, fewer chemicals in the food chain and less back-breaking work for humans and animals.