Human health and the environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human health and the environment - Essay Example Reduced chemical use in crop management conserves the environment. They can also be genetically manipulated to contain extra nutrient s. The crops will require lower maintenance and farmers will benefit from crop-protection transgenic strategies (Wambugu, 1999). Increasing food security will stabilize their economies and quality of life. Most people in arid and semi arid countries depend on single food crops and endowing these plants with more nutrients through genetic engineering will reduce incidences of food malnutrition. Most opponents of genetic engineering state that it is ethically wrong and that it is harmful. Adequate Legislation can ensure ethical practices and strict adherence to regulations can be monitored effectively. I conquer that more research should be done to understand the long term effects of genetically engineered crops on the ecosystem and on human health. Vasil, I.K. (1998). Plant biotechnology: Achievements and Opportunities at the Threshold of the 21st Century. Paper Presented at the IX International Congress on Plant Tissue and Cell Culture, Jerusalem Israel. b. The dose-response curve illustrates the change in an organism caused by different levels of exposure in a given time. The route of administration and the exposure time is crucial in understanding the response relationship. The response curve help toxicologists determine safe and hazardous levels for the compounds under study. c. LD50 is the amount of substance required to kill 50% of the test population usually measured in mg/body weight. A substance with a high LD50 is safer because it requires higher concentration to cause 50% death to the test population. A substance with a low LD50 requires very little concentrations to cause 50% death in test population and hence is more lethal. I support the precautionary principle because it is our duty to prevent some threats of damage, particularly