Selective breeding may be something out of a science fiction movie, but it actually has practical applications. This refers to a process where animals and plants are bred to make particular traits more prominent. The procedure is often carried out by a professional breeder. Animals that are bred are known as breeds, unless they are products of two purebred animals from different breeds, then they are called a crossbreed. Plants that are selectively bred are known as cultivars, cultigens or varieties, but will be called hybrids if they are crossbred.
Although selective breeding has the potential to remedy world hunger and offer other benefits, it still comes with certain disadvantages.
List of Pros of Selective Breeding
1. Provide benefits to the agricultural industry.
Making plants and animals more productive is one way that farmers can earn more profits naturally. And, since the process is not patented by any company, anyone can do selective breeding whenever and wherever they want. All that is needed are the right knowledge and equipment to achieve the best breeding output.
Moreover, the process can help achieve higher amount crops that are highly resistant from pests and diseases, and can be harvested in just a short amount of time. No farmer would say no to this.
2. Safety is not an issue.
Compared to genetically modified crops, plants that are selectively bred are considered safer. This is because the DNA sequences are not manipulated or altered in any way. It is only the evolution that is accelerated through human manipulation.
3. Offer high quality products.
Remember that the idea of selective breeding is to bring to the forefront favorable traits of a plant or animal. This means that superior type of items can be produced for the benefit of consumers and the providers.
4. Potential for a sustainable food chain.
With high quality food sources that can be harvested within a shorter span of time, it’ll be more than possible to have enough supply to eliminate hunger and effectively feed a population that is continuously growing. By 2050, when population is estimated to reach 10 billion, a sustainable food chain would be vital to everyone’s survival.
List of Cons of Selective Breeding
1. Limit varieties of organisms.
When something is considered good and effective, people tend to stick with it, which means variety of food choices, for instance, may be sacrificed in exchange for productivity. Evolutionary expansion will also be limited because only positive traits will be maintained.
2. Risk of genetic mutations.
While selective breeding can make good traits prominent, it can’t do anything about the bad traits. This increases the risk of random genetic mutation to happen, which is likely to reduce a crop’s effectiveness. Very few mutations are beneficial, after all.
3. Loss of original traits.
Combining two different breeds can result to an entirely different set of traits. Similar to evolution, this can result with the permanent or previous traits fading into non-existence.
While selective breeding can make vegetables or fruits taste good, it can have bad-tasting mutations. So, which side are you on — for or against it?