The GMO Food Is the Future, Essay Example

The world’s population continues to rise but what has remained fixed is the land supply. The number of hungry people in the world was 925 million in 2010(WorldHunger.Org) which means at least one in seven person in the world doesn’t have proper food. Moreover, the average age spans continue to increase which will only worsen the food problem over time. Fortunately, science has a solution in the form of genetically-modified food (GMO) which has the potential to not only help alleviate hunger problem but also help the economies of poor and developing countries. Genetically-modified organisms (GMO) or GM food are crop plants that are created using the latest molecular biology techniques (Whitman).Genetically-modified plants have better resistance against weather, pests, and other adverse conditions and moreover, they also yield more per a given area. Thus, GMO should be embraced on a wider scale by both developed and developing countries because it is the most effective answer to fixed land supply.

Some of us think that food crisis are things of the past and even if theystill occur, they primarily happen in third-world countries and are shorter and less severe as compared to the past. But the reality could not have been different. The price of rice more than tripled from May 2007 to April 2008 and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that the food price index rose by an unprecedented 50%. World grain prices also grew by more than 200 percent between January 2006 and April 2008. In Asia, more than two billion people eat rice as a staple food and one billion people eat grain as a staple food which means that rice and wheat together are consumer by more than a third of the world’s total population. In 2007, the number of people with insufficient amount of food increased between 50 million and 130 million and the global food import rose to its highest level on record. Organizations such as the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the FAO, and U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) mutually agree that the food prices over this decade willremain significantly higher than the last one (Dupont and Thirlwell).

Six million children die each year due to hunger and malnutrition in Africa. One in four preschoolers in developing countries suffers from hunger and malnutrition deficiencies. FAO estimatesthat about 854 million people were malnourished on average annual basis from 2001 through 2003 of which 820 million people were in developing countries. In several large South Asian countries such as India and Bangladesh, underweight and stunting rates among children under the age of five are well above the regional average and much higher than those in Africa. Genetically-modified crops not only increase agricultural productivity but also can be genetically-modified to include essential nutrients in order to combat malnutrition (Pinstrup-Anderson and Cheng).

Jonathan Rauch tells the story of agricultural lands in Virginia that employ none of the conventional agricultural techniques and yet generate double the yield of wheat on flat soil. In addition, the greater productivity is achieved without harming the environment because no plowing means no fuel consumption, soil erosion, water consumption, air and water pollution, fertilizer, herbicides, and the pesticides. Dennis Avery, Director of Global Food Issues at the Hudson Institute, says that excluding Africa, most of the good land has already been planted with high-yield seeds, thus, it is not possible to repeat the performance of the past, i.e. the tripling of world’s farm output since the 1960s. Mr. Avery believes biotech as the only solution to achieving record gains in agricultural productivity. Biotechnology techniques may also produce salt-tolerant crops that could be planted on the approximately 25 million acres of land lost to salinity each year. Genetically-modified crops may also prevent the loss of natural habitat which has been rapidly disappearing in Central and South America, Asia, and Africa. (Rauch).

Ms. Jennifer Thomson who works in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Cape Town believes that the genetically-modified crops are the solution to many of the causes of lower productivity by African farmers. These causes include insect resistant maize, insect resistant cotton, virus resistant crops, and drought tolerant crops. She points out that agricultural experts, researchers, government officials, and farmers in Africa have expressed the desire for insect-resistant maize varieties, African viruses-resistant crops, bio-fortified African crops, drought-tolerant crops, and parasitic weed Striga-resistant maize(Thomson).Genetically-modified crops can help us tackle these causes of low productivity by incorporating desirable genes into any crop species to meet the local needs anywhere in the world. In addition, certain nutritional genes can also be added to the crops to meet nutritional deficiencies in African children such as Starch and Vitamin A.

The critics blame genetically-modified food for its adverse impact on the eco-system such as an unintended harm to riskless or desirable organisms such as butterfly caterpillars, gene transfer to non-intended plant species, and potential of unknown health risks to the humans (Whitman).The thing is that any new technology is a step in an unknown territory that is bound to create undesirable challenges but the feasibility of any technology depends upon its benefits against the costs it may impose on the society. Many experts do agree there are potential dangers of undesirable gene transfers and weeds with high resistance but these evolutionary processes have always existed. Even in conventional farming, weeds and undesirable insects develop resistance to old pesticides. Rauch rightfully points out the fact that cross breeding entails the same risks.

There are several other factors also besides growing population, aging, and limited land that will continue to put pressure on the world’s food supply. The investments in biofuel will continue to grow due to their potential of creating sustainable energy sources and providing viable alternatives to current fossil fuels. Genetically-modified crops present the best defense against volatile food prices by ensuring that the supply of the crops is not outstripped by the demand from non-food sectors. Similarly, income levels are rising around the world and developing nations are posting record economic growth rates. This trend will continue to create upward pressure on the food prices. Russia doubled its consumption of meat between 2000 and 2008 and China and other developing nations import millions of tons more of corn, wheat, and soybeans to feed pigs, chickens, and cattle(Morgan and Phiri). Thus, as countries grow they will import more agricultural products to feed pets and farm animals which will further reduce the share available for human consumption.

Thus, GMO is the best solution to not only addressing the hunger crisis in the world but also addressing the food shortage due to numerous other factors including growing population, growing income, and greater per-capita demand for food. There are some challenges associated with genetically-modified crops but many of them are also present in case of conventional agricultural methods. We humans have shown a remarkable ability to find solutions and over time, we may be able to address many of the problems associated with genetically-modified crops. Even today, the benefits of genetically-modified crops will outweigh the costs. Genetically-modified crops are also desirable because they can be modified to help address malnutrition in children who may not be getting all the nutrients. There is a need to better educate the public so that they embrace genetically-modified food without hesitation and help promote the technology through higher demand.

References

Dupont, A., & Thirlwell, M. (2009, June/July). A New Era of Food Insecurity? Survival , pp. 71-98.

Morgan, T. C., & Phiri, I. (2008, November). Hunger Isn’t History. Christianity Today , pp. 26-33.

Morrin, X. (2008). Genetically modified food from crops: progress, pawns, and possibilities. Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry , pp. 333-340.

Pinstrup-Anderson, P., & Cheng, F. (2007, September). Still Hungry. Scientific American , pp. 96-103.

Rauch, J. (2007). Will Frankenfood Save the Planet? Science and Society , pp. 152-163.

Sharife, K. (2009). Is GM food the future for Africa? . New African , pp. 8-13.

Thomson, J. (2007). Genetically modified crops – good or bad for Africa? Biologist , pp. 129-133.

Whitman, D. B. (2000, April). Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful? Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php

WorldHunger.Org. (n.d.). 2011 World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm#Number_of_hungry_people_in_the_world