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It is claimed by proponents of GM technology that GM crops are simply an extension of natural breeding, and therefore do not pose a more serious threat to the environment than conventional crops. But can this premise be justified? Technically GM and natural breeding methods bear no resemblance to each other. The GM transformation process does not involve natural reproduction, and because GM crop plants contain genes from foreign species (bacteria, virus, unrelated food and non-food plants, insects, animal, fish, even human) they are genetically different to anything nature could produce. (See What is GM Technology?)
Nature does not cross species and any transferring of genes between species happens within the safety of evolutionary trial and error. GM crops are not a product of natural evolution, and therefore the ecosystem may well lack mechanisms capable of dealing with genetic pollution they could cause. When genes from GM crops escape into the natural world, the type and level of contamination to the environment cannot be predicted or limited, nor can damage be reversed or rectified.
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