▶ Your Answer :
In the reading passage, there is ample
support for the author’s claim that genetically modified crops are beneficial.
However, the professor in the lecture gives several reasons as a rebuttal to
the author’s point.
First, the professor contends that GM foods
are not realistic solution of world hunger because real issue is unequal distribution
of food. To be specific, even if GM crop produces more food, it does not
diminish world hunger. This casts doubt on the reading passage’s claim that GM
crops such as DNA modified rice can solve the problem of world hunger by
increasing crop yield.
Next, the professor insists that it would
not reduce price of food. It costs a lot of money for companies to make new GM
crops, and they expect more money to gain. So the price of seed will eventually
increase. Also, more water is needed to raise GM crops. This counters the
reading passage’s claim that genetically modified crops will decrease the
prices of food by stabilizing food supplies as they are resistant to the
environmental problems and fewer crops will lost when people raise them.
Finally, the professor argues that GM vaccines
have problems of transporting and storing difficulty. To be specific, GM
vaccines are used in bananas but they still spoil very quickly and it is
nothing better than original vaccines. Also, this kind of vaccine is not
available to developing countries. This refutes the reading passage’s
suggestion that genetically modified foods can produce vaccines that are more available
than conventional vaccines which are hard to transport. For example, GM fruits
are very easy to store or ship,
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