Selective breeding, or genetic engineering, is the process of breeding animals for specific qualities. Animals that are endangered are bred like this so the strongest can live on and repopulate the species. Farm animals, like pigs, chickens and cows, are bred specifically so the animal is fat, or produces the more milk or eggs than the average cow or pig. The selectively bred animal that I picked is the layer hen. Selective breeding has many pros and cons. The following are best and worst things about selective breeding.
Is selective breeding a good idea?
Selective breeding can be a good thing. If you are a farmer and your entire profit lies on the production of the layer hen’s eggs, then you will find it more profitable when you are getting so many more eggs. If you didn’t use genetic engineering for the hens, then they wouldn’t produce as many eggs, as they are not getting the layer hen gene. This is not the only good thing about selective breeding. If a generation of chickens have a genetic disease, selectively breeding allows this disease to be controlled and
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When we use selective breeding we lose the variety and unique characteristics of the animals that lack the trait. For instance, the layer hen that lacks the gene will still lay eggs, but its eggs will not be used for further production, where as its sisters who have the gene will continue the generations. Eventually the hen that can’t lay as much will be eradicated, therefore losing the variety. Genetic engineering interferes with Darwin’s theory of evolution because the animals are not free to mate and reproduce with whoever they want, or natural selection. Selective breeding interferes with evolution by altering the natural occurrences of mutations and microscopic changes. So in some ways selective breeding is immoral, and human intervention shouldn’t be required to make food for