blemish free fruits and vegetables (Jan-Peter, Peter. Metz, Anthony). Additionally, the ISAAA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) state that genetic modifications can make crops more resilient in unstable environments and capable of surviving natural disasters. For example, golden rice that is being developed in the Philippines is not only being modified to contain vitamin A, but to also be more resilient in dry seasons and typhoon seasons and to be able to survive natural disasters such as floods droughts. The benefits that these modifications provide such as increased yields and resilience to natural disasters and extreme environments may also have the biggest impacts for developing countries, as such areas tend to heavily rely on agriculture. With these genetic modifications providing disaster resistant crops and increased harvests it creates a more productive agricultural system that can provide a stable food supply to the population as the risks of crops being destroyed by natural disasters is reduced and more food can be harvested which increase profits for farmers, and food security for developing countries. (C) As shown by these genetic modifications the growing of GMO’s can create a more productive and sustainable agriculture not only for developing countries but for the rest of the world with modified traits that can provide increased crop yields using less land and crops that are resilient to natural disasters. Though GMO’s were created to provide
Agronomists have been working on these problems for years, but the rapid population growth of humans makes overcoming these challenges increasingly urgent. If we can’t feed the world, it will eventually feed on us.” (Newsweek/United Nations) Scientists find a way to add “medicine” to plant genes, which help it withstands pest attacks and drought problems.“Some GMO corn crops can protect harvests in water-limited conditions better than conventionally produced crops. Other GMOs can also promote use of no-till farming, which keeps more moisture in the soil. No-till also enables farmers to make fewer passes through the field using machinery, which means less fuel used and greenhouse gases emitted.”(Monsanto) GMOs are useful for helping with planting crops in any area of the world.
Genetically modified crops have become increasingly popular in the last few decades. Despite the fact that they are a controversial topic: we see GMOs as a growing technology that if regulated and tested will have great benefits when it comes to conserving water. One of the ways they are modifying genes is to make the plant more drought tolerant and take less water to germinate. In addition, to produce a better yield while practicing dry land farming and controlled irrigation water conservation. There are studies trying to modify the plants so that they can increase the rate of photosynthesis and depth of root structure. Scientists are also trying to decrease the rate of water loss through transpiration. “Corn, the crop with the highest global production, annually sustains losses on the order of 15 percent of potential yield attributable to drought. As the climate changes as a consequence of global warming, some climates will become more arid, increasing drought and resulting in up to 10 million more lost tons of maize per year. It has been estimated that 25 percent of these losses may be resolved by genetically modifying maize to be more drought tolerant.” (Clive.
Secondly, increased shelf life of genetically modified foods will enable it to be shipped to distant locations and cut costs as well as minimize waste to consumers. These foods are modified to be pesticide and herbicide tolerant, resulting in less use of chemical sprays; reducing soil contamination and pollution. In addition, genetically modified crops are more resilient, weather tolerant and capable of surviving in adverse climates such as droughts and extremely cold weather (Whitman, 2000).
In the Sex and Social Justice by Martha C. Nussbaum, She believes that without certain traits, a life will fall short of being a good life. She calls these traits, “Central Human Functional Capabilities”, and there are ten in total. She argues that the role of public policy should focus on those capabilities in order to ensure and promote a good quality of life for a society or country. If public policy focused on the Human Capabilities she discusses, than that is a way of creating an environment where everyone has an equal opportunity at a good life. So, she is also promoting a chance of survival, equality, and a good life. Before goodness can be defined, two things must exist: the ability to survive and an equal chance to do so for everyone. When good can be simplified to mean healthy, an environment for all must be created to be good or healthy. There is a typical group that does not meet one of the Human Functional Capabilities, bodily health and integrity which is “being able to have good health, including reproductive health; being adequately nourished; being able to have adequate shelter” (Nussbaum). Nourishing or providing shelter to homeless people is an example of a good act because it provides people an opportunity to have a central human functional capability that they are lacking of, and promoting a healthy environment.
Genetically modified crops are an incredibly important issue that everyone should be aware of since it is something we are exposed to at a daily basis. Genetically modified crops also known as GM crops or Biotech crops has been one of the most heated debates of issues within our society. The debate about the safety, concerns and disadvantages of GM crops have raged since the mid 1990 's but this is due to the lack of knowledge of the general public. Many people are unaware of what the GM crops actually are and what they offer. Genetically modified crops are plants that are used in the agriculture and have been modified to initiate a new trait to plants that does not happen naturally in the species. These plants are modified using genetic engineering techniques to enhance desired traits. GM crops are made when genes of commercial interest are transferred from one organism to another.() There are many methods used for the production of GM crops but the two primary used for plant insertion are gene guns and agrobacterium tumefaciens. There are also three types of modifications which are transgenic, cisgenic, and subgenic plants. However, there are a number of issues that surround this controversial topic such as environmental, health, and economic concerns. Even though there are some worrying facts about GM crops people don 't realize the advantages or the ways it has helped humans as well as animals. There are many reasons why GM crops are proven
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
Producing plants that can live through extended times of drought or and groundwater will help people to produce crops in formerly inhospitable areas as well. Malnutrition is very common in third world countries where the "poor" peoples rely on a single crop such as rice for the main ingredient of their diet. Since, rice does not contain a sufficient amount of all the vital nutrients to prevent malnutrition, but what if rice could be genetically engineered to contain additional vitamins and minerals, so that certian nutrient deficiencies would be reduced. Its a proven fact that every person will become ill atleast once in there lives and the use of medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and sometimes may require special storage techniques that is not available in third world countries, and now researchers are working to patent edible vaccines in tomatoes and potatoes. These vaccines will be much easier to ship, store and administer than traditional injectable vaccines. To not be misleading not all GM plants are grown as crops, soil and groundwater pollution still remains a problem in almost if not every part of the world. One example of an effort to help eliminate this is the use of poplar trees, these trees have been genetically engineered to clean up heavy metal pollution from contaminated soil.
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.
One of the biggest advantages of agricultural biotechnology lies in its economic efficiency. GM crops are financially beneficial to both the farmer and the consumer. Due to their resistance to pests, viruses, and adverse climates, genetically altered crops produce much larger yields than organic or conventional crops. For example, studies show that if no insecticide is used, a GM crop known as Bt maize has a 48% higher yield than non-modified maize varieties
It has been claimed in class that this treatment results from the nature of capitalism as an economic system, not merely from the doings of “bad people”. Maltreatment of workers, animals, and the environment are depicted in the film “FOOD, INC”. Capitalism also known as “The Free Enterprise System” and “The Market Economy” is a mode of production under which social classes are determined by ownership or control of the means of production. A mode of production is a system by which material production in society is organized. Under capitalism individual rights are emphasized, everything used except human labor is privately owned, and income is based on marketplace competition. In regards to food, food has
This goes along with genes that increase crop yield. Having crops that are resistant to harsh weather can benefit places where crops are not easily grown. One scenario may be having beans grow with only a few cups of water. Those beans could be grown in places in Africa where water is low or deserts where there is thousands of acres unused land. With climate changing GMOs are going to help keep food supplies high. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was considering approving a new corn hybrid genetically engineered to thrive on less water in 2011 and in 2013 the first public release of drought resistant corn was being produced. Few other plants have the same straight, rice is one of those few. One problem with plants being more resistant to disease and products like pesticides is farmers can use more of what plants are resistant to. Therefore if tomatoes are resistant to pesticides than farmers use more to kill more bugs until they get used to it as
These days people often hear the word genetically modified organism (GMO). It is an organism whose genetic material has been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria, viruses or other plants and animals. GMOs are the source of genetically modified food which is used to produce a variety of goods other than food. Genetic engineering researchers promise the following benefits that GM food will bring: increase crop yields, lower cost of herbicide, and adapt to global climate change. Therefore GM food is believe to solve the problem of hunger due to the ever increasing global population, especially in third world. In this essay I am going to focus on the genetically modified corn in Canada produced by Monsanto and provide reasons why
“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.
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
GM crops are created by inserting a gene externally from an foreign source into unrelated species. This has granted an ability to overcome many physiological barriers and to exchange genetic information among all living organisms. The purpose of genetic modification is to create a faster, efficient, and much more precise way to achieve the same results from artificial selection. Additionally, it can be used in order to introduce a new trait to the crop that would not be usually naturally occurring.