According to Bakshi (p.211), the use of biotechnology in agricultural production is a major tool for enhancing food security and sustaining the environment. Biotechnology is considered important in addressing the challenge of food availability, alleviation of poverty and environmental conservation. In this regard (Tramper et al 408), it is important to note that GMOs are produced by the introduction of extra genetic information into a certain organism through genetic engineering. The methods are a natural creation of the strategies hitherto employed with an aim of getting different varieties and strains. While some have seen GMOs as a solution to hunger, others have considered this innovation a danger as far as food security is concerned. This is to imply that though GMOs have been touted as being beneficial, the disadvantages of GMOs surpass the benefits.
Those in support of GMOs are driven by various technological traits under the developments they maintain hold a promise to boost crop output at affordable prices. This is in addition to major advantages to the consumers with more environmental preservation strategies (Leggie and Durant 59). The proponents present the input trait invention, which seeks to cultivate bioengineered elements into the crops with an aim of substantially reducing the incorporation of environmentally dangerous pesticides. They also present the output trait invention, which seeks to bioengineer attributes into the seeds with an aim of bolstering nutrition, shelf life and quality. In this regard, most scientists maintain that GMOs become mini factories in future, and would address malnutrition within the developing nations (Leggie and Durant 59). There is also the agronomic trait invention, which seeks to ...
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...mers Trust for Information: The Case of Genetically Modified Food?” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 86.5(2004): 1222-1229
Isaac, Grant, and Phillips Peter. “Market Access and Market Acceptance for Genetically Modified Products.” Proceedings of NE-165 Conference, Washington D. C.: London School of Economics, 2000. Print.
Leggie Jerome, and Durant Robert. “Public opinion, risk assessment, and biotechnology: lessons from attitudes toward genetically modified foods in the European Union.” Review of Policy Research 27.1(2010): 59-76.
Moon Wanki, and Balasubramanian Siva. “Public Attitudes toward Agro-biotechnology: The Mediating Role of Risk Perceptions on the Impact of Trust, Awareness, and Outrage.” Review of Agricultural Economics 26.2(2004): 186-208.
Qaim Martin and Kouser Shahzad. “Genetically modified crops and food security.” PLoS ONE 8.6(2013): e64879
In an argument, the lawyer representing Monsanto Company stated that the amount of arable land around the world is quickly dwindling. This means that it is time to take extra drastic measures to improve food safety throughout the world. Genetically modified seeds and related chemicals offer the best solution for such food safety concerns and thus the company was right to make such investments. This idea comes from recent realization of a robust population boom throughout the world, an inability for traditional agricultural practices and seeds to withstand changing climatic systems. Modification of the seed’s genetic material to withstand climatic and other environmental threats seems to be a viable solution to the challenge.
Our attitudes toward GMO foods range from hostility to indifference. GMO foods, like pesticide-resistant Roundup Ready soybeans and fast-growing salmon, seem to exist primarily to pad corporate pockets. Most people are not aware that they are eating GMO foods. The greater percentage of the population is just looking at the price tag instead of what is in the food product. This technology has the potential to provide sustainable nutrient rich food sources throughout the ages if the science is not abused for the food industry’s
The first claim, made by the bioengineering companies creating the GMOs, is that the products are "resistan[t] to insects or viruses, toleran[t] [of] certain herbicides and [have] nutritionally enhanced quality" (Maghari 2). With resistance against pests and tolerance to harsher pesticides, bioengineers claim to be creating a super food that requires less maintenance and costs less. In fact, for many developing countries, this seems a promising start to the end of w...
Supporters of Genetically modified crops, which consists of biotechnology companies and agricultural researchers, contend that the usage...
Until the government creates mandates for issuing labels on foods that contain genetically modified ingredients, there are measures that can be taken by common citizens and supporters of GMO labeling in order to keep Americans safe in the meantime. Since “study after study points to potential health risks” (“Whole Foods Market”), supporters need to raise awareness amongst the rest of society in order to generate a large group that can begin to press the government to create a law to handle the issue. It is in “the state’s interest [to] protect consumers from false or potentially misleading communication or prevent consumers from suffering unwitting harms” (Adler). Moreover, the government must be the one to put an official end to the lack of
“Man has been modifying plants for over 10,00 years” (Pechan 2005). Whether man has been cross breeding or modifying, this has always been our nature since the agricultural revolution for the convenience of the farmer and the consumer. One such example of this modification is that of the potato. Potatoes have many cousins that can live in many different elemental conditions as well as have different shapes, sizes and taste (Pechan 2005). However, that process through breeding different plants is an ineffective way to farm for the convenience of the farmer and the industry as a whole. What this led to in recent times is what is called “biological technology”, or “Genetically Modified Organisms” (GMOs). The meaning of a GMO is that “scientists select one or a few genes from other organisms that have been studied previously and added into a specific living plant cell that can be regenerated into a whole plant” (Pechan 2005). However, GMO are not limited only to plants, but animals as well (Otero 2008). With current technology, scientist can now modify organisms manually so that they can have enhanced taste, repel bugs and viruses, be ingredient specific, and even better for health (Pechan 2005). With animals, GMOs can enhance the rate of growth and number (Otero 2008). However, this has turned into an ethical problem in regards to the principle of justice, human welfare, and human rights in regards to plants (Tao 2003). With GMOs, in regards to animals, it becomes an issue regarding animal rights. There is a social impact that GMOs have on people in regards to human health, environmental implications, and globalization.
Food is an essential part of everyday life without it one could not survive. Every day we make choices on what we put in to our bodies. There are countless varieties of food to choose from to meet the diverse tastes of the increasing population. Almost all food requires a label explaining the ingredients and the nutritional value allowing consumers to make informed decisions on what they are consuming. However, many may not be considering where that food is coming from or how it has been produced. Unfortunately, there is more to food than meets the eye. Since 1992, “ the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled, based on woefully limited data, that genetically modified foods were ‘substantially equivalent’ to their non-GM counterparts” (Why to Support Labeling). GM food advocates have promised to create more nutritious food that will be able to grow in harsh climate conditions and eventually put an end to world hunger in anticipation of the growing population. There is very little evidence to support these claims and study after study has proven just the opposite. GM crops are not only unsafe to consume, but their growing practices are harmful to the environment, and multinational corporations are putting farmers out of business.
Sheldon, Ian. “Food Principles: Regulating Genetically Modified Crops After The 2006 WTO Ruling.” Brown Journal Of World Affairs 14.1 (2007): 121-134.Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2011.
The term GM foods or GMO (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques (Whitman, 2000). These plants have been modified in the laboratory to offer desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. Also, genetic engineering techniques have been applied to create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and accurately. For example, this is done by the geneticist isolating the gene responsible for drought tolerance and inserts it into another plant. The new genetically-modified plant will now have gained drought tolerance as well.
How many of you hear the words “genetically modified food” and immediately think “BAD”? How many of you scorn the idea that genetically modified foods are useful? How many of you have been manipulated by the media to think that all biotechnology is evil? Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have been genetically spliced to achieve a certain trait. As the demand for a larger food supply is increasing due to population growth, the benefits that GMO foods provide are being hailed as the only solution to the food crisis. However, many people are making inadequately informed decisions, and are pushing them to the back shelf. I will inform you on why genetically modified organisms may be the only way to a stable, safe future for the less fortunate.
The most wonderful activity a human being can experience is new flavors and foods. For example, the first time a person tastes a delicious juicy piece of prime rib or a delightful hamburger with cheese and ham, his world is never the same. However, since the beginning of the twentieth century, the production of food has been supplemented by science. This has triggered an angry dispute between the people who support the advances of biotechnology and people who love nature. In order to understand the controversy, we have to know the meaning of genetically modified foods. With new technological advances, scientists can modify seeds from a conventional seed to a high tech seed with shorter maturation times and resistance to dryness, cold and heat. This is possible with the implementation of new genes into the DNA of the conventional seed. Once these "transgenes" are transferred, they can create plants with better characteristics (Harris 164-165). The farmers love it not only because it guarantees a good production, but the cost is also reduced. On the other hand, organizations such as Greenpeace and Friends of Earth have campaigned against GMO (“Riesgos”) because they think that they are negatively affecting the earth (Gerdes 26). Both the advocates and the opponents of genetically modified foods have excellent arguments.
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 everyone sufficiently. No simple solutions can be found or applied when there are so many lives involved. Those who are hungry and those who are over fed, alike, have to consider the consequences of Genetically Modified Organisms. Food should not be treated like a commodity it is a human necessity on the most basic of levels. When egos, hidden agendas, and personal gains are folded into people's food sources no one wins. As in many things of life, there is no true right way or wrong way to handle either of the arguments and so many factors are involved that a ‘simple’ solution is simply not an option.
GM crops also benefit the economy and assist in feeding more people. While we struggle with feeding our population, “The population will continue to grow” (Calandrelli 1) For instance, genetic engineering in agriculture can minimize the cost of producing food. Thus, GMO’s in crops can result ...
The demand for non-GMO foods is on a great rise all around the world. "Non-GMO products accounted for $550 billion of the 5 trillion global food and beverage retail market in 2014". Many people, in today's times, are being offset by negative perceptions of GMO products. Numerous consumers have pre-dispositions and attitudes when it comes to their intentions of purchasing GMO foods. Consumers believe that "scientifically altered crops could be unethical and unsafe".
We live in a world that is constantly changing and advancing thanks to technological advancements, especially in the field of molecular genetics. Today, we are discovering and implementing new ways to overcome the ill-fated symptoms developed as a result from poor health or accidents. We are also making advancements in the field of agriculture thanks to molecular genetics. As we all know, food is an essential entity in our lives and is abundant as well as relatively easy to obtain here in the United States. However, as good as it may sound, this is not necessarily true for developing countries. Many people in developing countries receive very little food, if any, due to its scarcity. It is estimated that in Asia alone, close to 800 million people go to bed hungry every night due to food shortage. This problem can be alleviated by turning to the production of genetically modified organisms (a.k.a. GMOs).