Natural selection - A process in nature by which, according to Darwin's theory of evolution,only the organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic characteristics in increasing numbers to succeeding generations, while those less adapted tend to be eliminated.
Artificial selection - Modification of a species by human intervention so that certain desirable traits are represented in successive generations.
Clearly, natural selection is the earth's way of deciding which genetic traits are passed on or not and so far it seems to have worked out well. So how come humans have decided that they have to be in control of this process rather than letting the earth figure it out for itself, thus creating artificial selection? Which of these two options is the best option for the success of our world? Are humans overexerting their power by implementing artificial selection? Do we even need artificial selection to survive?
Artificial selection is a process that is used for many different reasons which has resulted in plants that are more disease-resistant, cows that produce more milk, racehorses that run faster and dogs that look cuter, to name a few.
Lets look at some pros and cons of artificial selection:
Pros:
Artificial selection has existed in dog and horse breeding for centuries to create pure bred that are faster, stronger and better looking than other animals of their species.
For example, artificial selection has given humans the ability to create dogs that vary in size from the Great Dane to Chihuahuas, though they both are a variation of the same species; a wolf-like canid.
Artificial selection has allowed agricultural workers to pick out the genetic traits in plants that make them bigger and more disease-resistant.
Farmers can also raise larger animals (pigs, cows, etc.) through artificial selection to produce the largest amount of meat.
Artificial selection has created vegetables that would have never existed such as cauliflower and broccoli, all from one parent vegetable, the wild mustard.
Artificial selection creates a world in which we can decide the genetic outcome of the next generation of animals and plants.
Artificial selection can also be applied to medicine. Specifically in stem cell research, artificial selection can be used by picking only the best stem cells to become cells of another part of the body. Genetically modified bacteria can also be produced through this human-controlled process that can benefit drug production.
Cons:
Artificial selection goes against nature. By deciding which genes we want to be passed on to future generations we are denying the earth's process of natural selection. Natural selection selects the genes that allow the generation to survive and withstand the demands of their environment, while artificial selection does not care about survival in nature; just that the organism is the way they want it to look, or is as big as they want it to be.
Many of the changes that artificial selection has made against animals and plants have not been positive.
For example, when artificial selection is used in dog breeding, the resulting dog is genetically weak, a characteristic that would normally have been 'weeded out' by natural selection. Also, farmers create chickens that are so large, they can barely walk, which is very unfair to the chicken.
Artificial selection is an exploitation of our power as humans and it is ethically wrong.
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With all this in mind, I think that artificial selection should be used only for medicinal and agricultural purposes to a certain extent because they benefit our society in ways which can move our world in a positive direction. However I do not support the enlargement of chickens to the point where they cannot walk, or any use of this process which causes pain to animals. Artificial selection used in dog and horse breeding and other recreational purposes with reasons only for entertainment is not really necessary because it has no real value to our world.
Bibliography
AAAS News. "Scientists Discover Sequence of Canine DNA Key to Diversity in Dog Body Size." April 5, 2007.
http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2007/0405dogs.shtml
The free dictionary. "Natural Selection".
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/natural+selection
The free dictionary. "Artificial Selection".
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/artificial+selection
Pie, Jengy. "Artificial Selection and its Application to Medicine." Helium.
http://www.helium.com/items/804222-artificial-selection-and-its-application-to-medicine
Port, Tami. "Natural and Artificial Selection." Suite101. December 6, 2007.
http://geneticsevolution.suite101.com/article.cfm/natural_and_artificial_selection
Port, Tami. "The Role of Natural Selection in Evolution." Associated Content Technology. October 5, 2009. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2250971/the_role_of_natural_selection_in_evolution.html?cat=58
