In plants, Selective Breeding can positively influence food production. Selective Breeding improves quality of seed grains and increases the levels of proteins in forage crops. Plants also become more resiliant to insects and disease. It also allows crops the capacity to grow on lands that are not suitable for them to grow. This allows farmers to produce more food and get a variety of different plants even if the land is unsuitable.
In animals, Selective Breeding can produce a wide range of stronger and fitter animals that can produce a higher percentage of milk, meat, or eggs. With Selective Breeding, we can produce more animals that are able to survive in poor climates or marginal conditions. This can preserve human food supplies and even save lives. Selective Breeding can also protect animals from harmful things such as disease.
However, though there are many benefits that come with Selective Breeding, it also comes with its risks. Since humans are breeding different species for a particular trait, there is a huge risk of losing other beneficial traits. If that happens, altogether it can be extremely difficult to bring that trait back. For example: a genetically reproduced plant needs a great amount of water to survive and because of this plant's huge need for water, it uses the water from the other plants around it who still need water to survive. The other plants dry up from lack of water which causes them to die which can lead birds loosing home and insects loosing food.
Since there are a fair amount of risks that come with Selective Breeding, there also comes with a fair amount of concerns. Many newsaper articles have given people concerns that genetically engineered anmials may pose a threat to humans when consumed. Many people in the US also think that genetically modifing animals violates animal rights, because it involves manipulating animals for human purposes. However, others believe that Selective Breeding could be helping animals because it removes diseases and gets rid of characteristics that can cause injury.
