Can Frankenfood Save The Planet Analysis

Brought up in the southern of China, I often heard about that people from there “eat anything with four limbs except tables, anything that flies except aero planes, and anything that swims except ships”. Nevertheless, I eat more fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains but less meat to make careful choices for environmental protection. Similarly, Kathy Freston argues that animal agriculture is one of the top contributors to global warming. In her Huffington Post selection “Vegetarian Is the New Prius,” Freston lists how many emissions of greenhouse gases people make when they eat meat and illustrates the consumption of tree in animal agriculture. She effectively convinces her audiences that the livestock results in the most serious environmental problems and encourages people to lead a greener diet to protect our environment. However, ardent craving, poor health, and perpetual hassle and cost prevent all Americans from being vegetarian.

When you hear the word "food" what does it make you think of? Does it make you think of hunting over grueling terrain for hours, sometimes days at a time? Does it make you think of forriging through leaves and bushes for nuts or roots? Unless you have been living as a wolf, these are probably not what you think of when you hear the word "food". Today, food is easier than ever to procure, as it should be. Thanks to thousands of years of advancements, food is nowhere near as hard to come by. We are still working towards a world where hunger is not a problem, and this problem is being solved through the practice of creating GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms. These are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated

Due to reading “Stuffed and Starved” by Raj Patel this semester, I learned about how foods are produced and impact the world. Ever since I visited the farmer’s market in October, I became more aware of whether or not I am consuming genetically modified crops. Raj Patel revealed some of the many truths about the Green Revolution regarding genetically modified crops that influenced my choice of eating. Prior to reading the section of the book that made me aware of what I am eating, I believed that genetically modified crops were more beneficial than harmful to everyone. Not only did the genetically modified crops produce a higher yield to feed people, but the negative impact of technology outweighed its benefit. For example, Patel states, “domestic

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

In an ever changing world, there are only a few things that are certain that all people need. It is said that a human can last three minutes without air, three hours without shelter, three days without water, and three weeks without food. The typical American farmer in 2017 feeds about 155 people compared to the 25.8 people in 1960. The thought of genetically modified organisms is nothing more than just a regulatory muddle. Agriculture is such a widely conversed topic however, through extensive research, international experiments, and general education, it is clear that genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) are safe on all aspects as well as necessary to continue to feed the people.

Agriculture for meat and beef, eggs and dairy products are responsible for eighteen percent of all the greenhouse gas emission per year, which is more than the emissions of cars, planes, and trains together. And livestock and their byproducts are responsible for fifty-one percent of the greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and for up to ninety percent of water consumption in the U.S.. Thousands of gallons of water are used to produce beef, eggs and dairy products. More than half of the oceans are fished and two acres of the rainforest get destroyed every second for food production. Switching to a vegan lifestyle can decrease all these factors and make the world we live in now exist longer.

The human population is growing rapidly. With the growth in the human population, the demand for food is also growing at an unprecedented rate. Arguably, farms are unable to naturally provide the world’s population the food needed by natural means. This may seem like a big issue, but humans came up with an ingenious solution: genetically modified organisms, commonly known as GMO’s. Genetically modified food has been able to offset the worlds growing demand for food, and all our food problems seem to be solved. Or have they? I will use information from: Wendell Berry’s, The Pleasures of Eating, Jon Entine and JoAnna Wendel’s, 2000+ reasons Why GMO’s Are Safe to Eat, Robin Mather’s, The Threats from Genetically Modified Foods, along with references from Food Inc., to explain how genetically modified food is being used in a way that negatively affects the livestock, our health, the ecosystem, and the potential threats genetically modified crops have on our future.

With an increasing global population, GM technology seems to be a final solution. The world’s population is climbing up to 9.5 billion by 2050, and it will endlessly raise to 11 billion by 2100 (CheatSheet.com). However, do we need GM technology to feed the world? In fact, what creates the world hunger is the tilted distribution, but not the total food supply (WorldHunger.org). In the United States, there are no less than 67% of adults that are obese in 2014 (Food Research & Action Center). Furthermore, “133 billion pounds of food was lost in 2010 — that's 31 percent of the total food supply. And it was worth about $161.6 billion” (npr.org). The same situation is happening in Europe as well. In 2012, the total food waste reached 100 million tons, and the food waste in 2020 is expected to be 120 million tons (European Commission). This automatically implies the real problem of the world hunger: the distribution. A research from University of California Berkeley concludes that the independent farmers can be influential on the world hunger issue. It explains, “When organic farmers utilized certain diversification methods, the yield gap between organic and conventional producers essentially vanished, proving what organic food devotees the world over already suspected — that organic food can help to feed the world” (Cheatsheet.org). It is true that applying GM technology increases food supply, but this

The world is a hungry place. It 's hungry for love, hungry for passion, hungry for money and hungry for work. But more than anything, it 's hungry for food. People are starving around the globe while the rest of us live a comfortable existence. Several companies have used their scientific expertise to genetically modify seeds to increase crop yields in an attempt to feed the masses and end world hunger. Can they do it? In the short run, yes they can, but it is important to ask "at what cost?” What are they not telling us? If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Although the genetically modified food industry has so far been instrumental in successfully feeding a hungry and growing world population, those same foods are polluting the environment, poisoning our food supply and killing us slowly.

Back then, farmers relied solely on the plot of soil they owned to produce fruits and vegetables. Farmers often had to deal with the threat of damaged crops from weather changes and insect pests. However, imagine being able to not increase productivity and protecting crops being ruined or eaten. Now, with advancements in technology and genetics, scientists can genetically modify organisms by altering its DNA in a way that does not occur naturally by mating or natural recombination to introduce desired physiological traits (EFFL 235). In 2000, 68% of all genetically modified, GM, crops were grown by U.S. farmers, with soybeans and corn making up 82% of all GM crops harvested in 2000 (Whitman 5). According to the European Food & Feed Law Review, scientists may transfer simple genes from the DNA from one organism into another, and also between non- related species, such as animals, bacteria, and virus to enhance desired traits (4). The use of genetic engineering was first introduced to aid farmers in an alternative other than using pesticides. Soon after, enhanced traits that improve nutrition were inputted into plants to increase nutritional value. Although the genetic engineering of GM food may create superweeds, GM food should be encouraged since it decreases the need for pesticides, increases food supply, and improves the nutrition of food.

According to a census done by the United Nations, as of October 31, 2011 the world’s population has reached seven billion people. The earth’s population is estimated to reach between 8.3 and 10.9 billion by 2050. Will the earth be able to sustain and feed that many mouths? The planet’s current population is already two to three times higher than the sustainable level. Approximately fifty percent more resources than the Earth is producing are being consumed. The longer we consume more resources than the sustainable level, the quicker the sustainability of earth decreases. In 1990, a new technique called genetic engineering entered the food industry. Genetic engineering is the alteration of the basic make up of plants and animals to produce a desirable trait. Some scientists believe that GMOs increase yields, but according to some research, “GMOs have nothing to offer the goals of reducing hunger and poverty, improving nutrition, health and rural livelihoods, and facilitating social and environmental sustainability” (Institute for...). About 30 countries around the globe ban GMOs, including Australia, Japan and all of the nations in the European Union. Activists that are against Genetically Modified Organisms have organized campaigns to raise customer awareness of their existence in the majority of the food supply. Most Americans aren’t

Le Page’s article starts by describing an ideal world, where in which people could always choose if they wanted to consume genetically modified food products or not. He then argues that this is not a perfect and ideal world, where billions of people are starving because there is not enough food. Le Page also pronounces that this number will continue to grow as the earth’s population continues to increase and farming becomes more expensive. He then claims that farming is contributing to global warming and the world needs a more efficient method of producing food.

Walsh claims that nearly 1 billion people are malnourished due to lack vitamins, iron and zinc. Also, “We need to grow that additional food without using up much more land, because we’re already near 15% of the Earth’s surface that can sustainably be used for farming.” This encourages the farmers to increase their production by genetically modifying their crops, so it fits the world’s need. On other hand, Stonebrook disagrees with this point, as she said,” Genetic engineering can increase the levels of a naturally occurring allergen already present in a food or insert allergenic properties into a food that did not previously contain them.’’ There are some people that think about how it goes financially not how healthy the product should be. Walsh’s point was that people are just focusing in growing more food and gain more

And, although many concerns have been expressed about the potential for unexpected consequences, the unexpected effects that have been observed so far have been benign” (“Nina Fedoroff”). With that being said, modified crops are not as bad as many people think. In fact, evidence has been found that genetically modified crops actually benefit the world’s economic and environmental condition. Whether the food helps feed starving children in Africa, or improves the taste of the potato chips that the average American man is eating right now, genetically modified crops have many advantages. Although some scientists may argue that genetically modifying crops have negative impacts, genetically modified crops have positive consequences on society because they help preserve the environment, they have more nutritional value than their organic counterparts, and they heal worldwide hunger.

Since 2.3 billion people will be added to the world from 2009 to 2050, biotechnology- Genetically Modified Organism- is a must to combat the global food crisis(Weisser para. 2). When the United States developed Bt corn, “[they] have been genetically engineered to resist herbicides and pests and even withstand drought.”(para. 16). Unlike corn that have never been modified, the Bt corn were able to survive better because of their resistant to herbicides, pests, and drought; resulting, a corn that can survive in harsh environment. By creating a modified corn that can survive in harsh environment, a large supply of corn- food- can be produced. If biotechnology can genetically modified corn to survive in harsh condition, more food can be produced; resulting 2.3 billion people can be fed; therefore, addressing the global food crisis. To put it briefly, limiting biotechnology would prevent addressing the global food crisis. Not only can genetic engineering address the global food crisis, but it can also improve medicine