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Poor Nutrition Is Responsible For The Deaths Of Nearly 3.1 Million Children

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Poor nutrition is responsible for the deaths of nearly 3.1 million children annually; this is half of all deaths in children under the age of five ("Hunger Statistics"). About 795 million people in the world do not have enough food to live a healthy, active lifestyle ("Hunger Statistics"). Seventy-five percent of the world 's poorest people - 1.4 billion women, children, and men - live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods ("Know Your World"). Many argue that genetically modified organisms are a way to address these issues. Genetically modified organisms, also known as GMOs, can be defined as "organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way …show more content…

For poor farmers, genetically modified foods increase the yield of the farmers ' crops and help reduce the amount of insecticides they need to use, resulting in higher profits and for some farmers - even lifting them out of poverty. Naam gives the specific example of India, where between 1991 and 2001 cotton yields were flat; in 2002, when Bt cotton (a type of GM crop) was introduced in India, cotton yields increased by two thirds in just a few years. Despite these benefits of GM food crops, the world 's poorest countries, including India, don 't allow any GM food crops to be grown. When India 's regulators approved GMO foods, anti-GMO activists cried out; the government, therefore, placed an indefinite moratorium on GM foods. Naam states that GM crops are being blocked by governments and courts not because of any specific concerns, but instead because of general

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