Introduction
Genetic engineered food and food products are being upheld as the food for the future. Experiments, research, and laboratory tests have provided results that reveal the fact that GMO is the future. GMO’s not only offer cost effective weed management and strong resistance to crop infection for farmers but they are expected to feed over 9 billion people across the globe by 2050 (Gorski, 2014).
Thesis Statement
Although, critics take on GMO’s is highly skeptical, the future of genetically engineered crops offer promising benefits to the agricultural industry and food markets of the world. This paper presents arguments and provides research evidence to support the claim that GMO’s can lead to higher production of high quality crops safe for human and animal consumption. GE food will be the key to solving the world food crisis in the future.
Background
According to World Health Organization (WHO), GMOs or Genetically Modified Organisms are basically those organisms that have undergone a change or alteration in their genetic material (DNA) through an artificial or human-technology enabled process. In other words, the DNA alteration in GMO’s has not occurred naturally. The technology used for bringing in this alteration is known as "biotechnology" or "genetic engineering". (WHO) Genetic engineering technology is used primarily for randomly inserting DNA genetic fragments of a particular organism into another organism belonging to a different species altogether. The
Norman Borlaug once said, “Man 's survival, from the time of Adam and Eve until the invention of agriculture, must have been precarious because of his inability to ensure his food supply.” Throughout the history of mankind, the global food supply has become a battleground for politicians, scientists, and farmers. Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, have been in the spotlight throughout much of the last four decades, offering a viable solution to world hunger issues. It is through genetic engineering that scientists can achieve the creation of genetically modified crops, creating new crop varieties designed to yield more products with less inputs. Genetically modified foods offer numerous benefits, such as boosting our economy, eradicating hunger and malnutrition, and also provide a safe food source for a growing population. Genetically modified foods are economically viable, able to help ease world hunger issues and are in fact safe to eat.
In contrast, the counter argument claims that GMOs are unsafe for human consumption. However, GMOs actually improve human health by reducing the amount of pesticides needed for successful crop production. With the use of GMOs in crop production, the amount of pesticide and herbicide application has decreased. To resume, successful crop production is essential to a farmer’s success, which could be why over 18 million farmers throughout the world utilize GMOs. The successful production of crops can be achieved by genetically modifying crops with resistance against insects, weeds, and other threats. Resistance to different stressors has reduced pesticide applications by 8.1 percent. Additionally, crops that are modified to be resistant to specific
Genetically modified food’s, or GMOs, goal is to feed the world's malnourished and undernourished population. Exploring the positive side to GMOs paints a wondrous picture for our planet’s future, although careful steps must be taken to ensure that destruction of our ecosystems do not occur. When GMOs were first introduced into the consumer market they claimed that they would help eliminate the world’s food crisis by providing plants that produced more and were resistant to elemental impacts like droughts and bacterial contaminants, however, production isn’t the only cause for the world’s food crisis. Which is a cause for concern because the population on the earth is growing and our land and ways of agriculture will not be enough to feed
With numerous developments plaguing agricultural production, the implementation of Genetically Modified Organisms, commonly referred to as GMOs, is best suited to be used in food manufacturing. It is estimated that by the year 2050, global food production must increase by seventy percent. However with current practices in place and the limited expansion of farmland due to urbanization, such production rates are nearly impossible to achieve. The use of Genetically Modified Organisms seems to be among the only feasible options to rapidly increase food production and thus aid in this crisis which plagues even though most developed countries, such as the United States. Specifically in the United States, the use of Genetically Modified Organism
There is much controversy surrounding genetically engineered (GE) foods and the use of biotechnology. However, they offer many scientifically proven advantages that could have a dramatic impact on world hunger and our environment in the near future. At the same time, the public is asking many good questions and raising concerns about what long term negative effects genetically engineered foods may have on the population’s health and the environment. Never the less, based on the following list, the advantages biotechnology currently provides, seems to out way the potential disadvantages they could impose on our future.
A GMO is an organism whose genetic makeup is changed by humans. A genetically modified organism (GMO) is a plant, animal or microorganism whose genetic code has been altered, subtracted, or added (either from the same species or a different species) in order to give it characteristics that it does not have normally.
GMOs (or “genetically modified organisms”) are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated in a laboratory through genetic engineering, or GE. This relatively new science creates unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.
GMO’s increase the yield of crops grown by farmers greatly, and provide the world with
“A Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using techniques in genetics generally known as recombinant DNA technology” Science Daily (2012).
On recent years, Genetically Modify Organism (GMOs) are becoming a major topic for argument on American consumers. Recent studies are starting to prove how dangerous they are. More animal right groups are coming on how GMOs contribute to animal cruelty. Also, scientist are starring to warn the public on the effects GMO farming has in the Ecosystem. Finally, medical studies conducted in foreign countries show the negative impact GMO foods have on humans.
“GMOs, or “genetically modified organisms,” are plants or animals created through the gene splicing techniques of biotechnology (also called genetic engineering, or GE). This experimental technology merges DNA from different species, creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding.
The 21st century is an age where scientific advances occur every day. Discoveries in technology and healthcare have radically changed the way people live their everyday lives. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), specifically major crops, are changing the way food is grown and distributed. While GMOs have been around since the 1970’s, they have come to be a hot button topic in more recent years. It is not uncommon to hear about them in the news, read about them in scientific journals, and see them debated and discussed all over the internet.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms of living things whose DeoxyriboNucleic Acid (DNA) has been changed by humans using the techniques of genetic technology. The tool for creating a GMO is called the recombinant DNA technique. Which is combining strands of DNA that come from different sources to create a new DNA molecule that has a dissimilar combination of genes which occurs naturally. The newly created DNA is then inserted into a living organism such as plants, animals or an egg or sperm that will result in a genetically modified organism. Genetically modified (GM) crop plants, such as
It is a common saying, “You are what you eat.” While many may consider this a harmless persuasion to eat healthily, the soaring popularity of GM food in society has prompted consumers to question their food choices. Ever since the initial modification of genetic material in 1972, GMOs have become an increasingly standard component in the advancement of scientific and agricultural research (Statista). However, the benefits of GMOs come at a costly price, one that is not worth paying for. While it remains true that GM foods present with some economic and nutritional advantages, there is immense retaliation regarding their contribution to sustainable development through their controversial issues. This makes them unfit and unsafe for cultivation
“70 percent of our corn farmland and 93 percent of soy farmland are planted with crops genetically engineered to resist pests and herbicides and increase crop yields. 60% of all the processed foods in the United States are genetically modified; a shocking statistic has the concern of many Americans. However, most people are uninformed about the beneficial impact that genetically modified food has on their diet. GM is the use of molecular biology technology to modify the inherited structure of organisms. Genetically engineered crops increase nutrients, drought tolerance, provide more food for growing populations, and resists diseases and pesticides. Genetically engineered foods are crucial to the improvement of economy, agriculture, society, and health choices. The creation of GM foods was one of the most significant breakthroughs in food industry. Genetically modifying foods is a key component that is harmless for the enrichment of our foods.