Are Genetically Engineered Plants Effective?

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 North America and Europe the value and impact of genetically engineered food crops have become subjects of intense debate, provoking reactions from unbridled optimism to fervent political opposition.

Genetically engineered foods have been a controversial topic for a long time, splitting society into two sides, for genetic engineering or against it. Some people think that genetically engineering our food greatly improves our food supply quality and quantity, while others may think that genetic engineering will destroy and ruin our world’s food supply. GMO has many pros and cons that can be a major effect today, as well as the future. However, I think that genetically engineering foods is a good idea for society. The use of genetically engineering foods has been significantly helping the food we eat with many factors. GMO can create safer crops that won’t catch disease as easily as crops that are not genetically engineered. People won’t have to worry if the food they’re eating is infected, for the crop would be

Now, you make ask what is a GMO? A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified using gene modification, and I believe Genetically Modified Organisms are beneficial to our society.

There are negative consequences to GMO’s just as there are also numerous advantages that need to be recognized. Genetically Modified Organisms are organisms that have been modified artificially through genetic engineering to enhance and introduce desirable traits. “Gene transfer technology is simply a sophisticated version of a cut-and-paste operation. Once the desired gene is identified in the native organism's genome, it can be cut out, transferred to the target plant, and pasted into its genome” (Learn Genetics, Genetic Science Learning Center). This process is vital in innovating the agricultural field. With just 2% of the population feeding the other 98%, and at a population of 7 billion these numbers are staggering. Statistics show that 795 million people (1/9th of the world's population) suffer from poor nutrition, and this same issue is causing nearly half (45%) of deaths in children under five. These

People opposed to genetically engineered crops believe genetically engineering a crop to have a higher nutritional value will cause problems with a person’s diet. They believe people will then disregard other foods besides the new genetically engineered food, and this will cause other health issues. This does not seem likely because genetically engineered crops with enhanced nutritional value are aimed to help people reach a certain daily value of a vitamin or mineral, not to replace a person’s whole diet. A person will still have to eat other foods with the new genetically engineered food, however, he or she will not have to eat as much to obtain the correct daily values of their vitamins and minerals. Countries such as Africa, who have a problem with people dying of starvation each year, could really use these kinds of crops. Crops that are genetically engineered to withstand drastic weather conditions and are higher in nutritional value could help Africa have a higher yield of crops to feed the starving children with. The increased nutritional value in these crops would also help the starving children get more of the vitamins and minerals they need to survive.

This paper examines the latest evidence on whether genetically modified foods have been proven safe for consumption. Also explored are how people might benefit from genetically modified crops and whether or not food products made from Genetically Modified (GM) crops should be labeled. Another important topic is whether Genetically Modified crops could reduce world hunger. Finally, the effects of environmental effects of planting Genetically Modified crops will be examined.

It will continue in the coming days. Despite this, general public is more or less unaware of the genetic modification, its advantages and disadvantages. Some people oppose genetic modification without knowing the information about genetic modification. They have emerging concerns for Genetic modifications associated with environmental hazard and human health. The genetically modified food like the insect resistant maize and herbicide tolerant soybean is in the US food market for almost 20 years with noteworthy advantages including reduced use of insecticides and herbicides, lessened labor costs and enhancement in food quality (Brookes & Barfoot, 2012). Day by day the number and amount of genetically modified food is increasing. The seeds and food plans are genetically modified for better production and tolerate adverse climate conditions. Sociocultural idiosyncrasies are different in different communities. Many countries within the European Union are reluctant invest time and effort to uplift genetic modification of food production. In the United States, most of the people accept genetically modified food without major concerns and a few other groups of people opposes genetically modified food (Zilberman, Kaplan, Kim, Hochman, & Graff, 2013). The global population is increasing and the crop fields are shrinking to accommodate the space for housing and industries. It is essential to increase food production by 70% by the year 2050 to feed increased number of population (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 2009)). In many countries of Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, lack of food causes increased malnutrition and mortality of infants. About 54% child mortality is linked with malnutrition in developing countries in 2001(World Health Organization, 2013). Shortage of food causes overall undernutrition and disease burden on the entire population. Feminine, poverty

Pros for genetically modified plants are good use in productions in are arguculture. GM will allow are fields and crops to formally produce more products to help feed more people. GM products also allows a longer shelf life in its products. Genetically modified plants also reduces the need of for pesticides and herbicides which is a form of insect repellents. The reduction of pesticides and herbicides will allow us as human beings to stop the Potential effects include cancer and the damage to the nervous, endocrine, and reproductive systems. Another pro for genetically modified plants would be that the tecnology of GM will allow the plant to stand weather conditions so farmers wont loose there crops due to tempertures of different seasons.

Ever since the discovery of DNA, farmers have selectively bred plants in order to bring out desirable traits such a large yield or longevity. As time passed on new discoveries were made about DNA and scientist eventually became able to directly insert genes into a plant cell, permanently changing the world of agriculture. Genetically modified agriculture, or transgenic crops, are crops that have had their DNA altered via genetic engineering. Transgenic crops are often the subject of skepticism from wealthy countries such as America. In these countries the citizens are concerned transgenic crops may have a negative impact on their health and the environment. As a result transgenic crops, or any other genetically modified organism, are the subject of controversy. On one side of the debate there are the supporters who see the potential of genetic engineering and the other side there are people who fear modifying the DNA of any living creature is going too far. Although some wealthy nations refuse to grow or consume transgenic crops many developing nations can benefit from this technology. This essay is not meant to argue the moral problems or speculations associated with transgenic crops, it is intended to argue the potential benefits of transgenic crops in developing nations where there is a scarcity of quality food. In developing countries, transgenic crops can positively affect the health of citizens, the economy, and the environment of these nations.

There is no denying that at a quick glance genetic altering appears to be an attractive and quick way to food security, but the importance of something having intrinsic value seems to be forgotten or ignored. All of the natural world holds an amount of intrinsic value and has a right to simply exist. Seeds, plants, and animals exist independently from humans and are beneficial contributors to the bigger picture of the community on Earth. Genetically modifying organisms promotes a hierarchy of Humankind and exhibits that we

Nearly 10,000 years ago people began crop domestication using selective breeding. This was done to try to make crops grow faster, bigger, or even grow in harsh environments. Then in 1940s and 1950s breeders and researchers began to seek even more reasons to modify the gene pool of a plant for the best, to help people. After years of test and trials in 1980 scientist developed a more precise and controllable method of genetic engineering to make plants with the wanted traits. After a few years of politics and talking to the community scientist and companies finally got the first GMOs (genetically modified organisms) into the marketplace in the 1990s. But are these modified foods safe, and do they affect your

Genetically modified crops possessing genes from different species, could possibly relieve global food shortages, although huge debate surrounding the use of GM crops, Molecular Genetics can provide bigger and better harvests for farmers, there are still questions about the benefits of such crops. In addition, the public may not welcome the creation of "super plants" as a viable option in solving global hunger. Agronomists have been working on these problems for years, but the fast population growth makes

Genetic technology has revolutionized the field of science and introduced genetically altered organisms for consumer purposes. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are created with an intention to eradicate poverty by increasing the volume of crop yield, which proportionally gives people an easy access to a food supply. With the ever-growing world population, food shortage has been an immense obstacle many developing countries are facing. Genetically modified foods have addressed this problem by being widely incorporated into the basic human diet. Genetic technology utilizes techniques that alters species and the process goes against nature. The artificiality of GMOs can be a potential threat to human health and the environment. Genetically modified products have negatively impacted farmers worldwide, due to the expensive seeds and high maintenance. Although genetically modified foods supports the thriving human population, genetically modified food labeling and production should be extensively regulated by the U.S government to protect the public health, the environment, and the farmers’ sovereignty.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the world population is expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050. That’s two billion extra mouths to feed. If we want to avoid mass malnutrition, farmers will have to increase food production by 70% by 2050 (Isaacson 2015). Unfortunately, agriculture is already putting a strain on our limited natural resources. Humanity, thus, has a dilemma to solve: how do we feed the growing human population without depleting the natural resources and destroying the environment? The answer: genetically modified crops. Since its conception, genetic modification (GM) technology has rapidly advanced, and now scientists can breed super crops that are resistant to pests, diseases, and