- An engineer identifies and isolates a gene that expresses a desired trait, and then inserts it into a recipient plant with a gene gun. The host plant regulates the new gene as it own and passes the trait to its descendants.
- The potential benefits of genetic modification include controlled speed of ripening; resistance to pests and herbicides; enhanced taste or appearance; vitamin enrichment; increased crop yields; and drought, cold or disease resistance.
- Intellectual property rights of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, allow a few companies to dominate agricultural production. In this way, developing countries become increasingly dependent on industrialized nations, and "biopiracy," the foreign control of crop production, can occur.
- Transgenic plants can cross-pollinate with non-GM crops or wild plants, thus creating genetic pollution, which cannot be controlled once released. This can cause a loss of biodiversity of both flora and fauna, and the generation of herbicide-resistant "superweeds." Long-term environmental effects are largely unknown because of the newness of biotechnology.
- The extent of effects on human health are also unknown, but risks could include increased allergens and resistance to antibiotics.
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