Summary Of The Issues Led By Modified Seeds By Lakshawn Yapa

Some people may say that GM foods that are given to 3rd world countries are bad and unhelpful. Some african farmers have actually asked for them to be banned. They say that we should, ‘“recognise that farmers in Africa already have effective approaches to seed and agriculture, which are far more environmentally and farmer-friendly than GM.’” But their crops don’t have special nutrients in them that they need to survive like GM foods do. In GM foods they insert genes like beta carotene from other organisms to make them

Genetic engineering is already providing a more stable solution for agricultural production in the economy to stand on. In nine years (i.e. 1996-2005), profits from genetically modified crops were twenty-seven billion dollars. Those twenty-seven billion dollars were not just in the United States or countries like it, but the profits almost split half and half between first and third world countries (O'Neill 19). In India, for example, cotton yields have jumped to one hundred-fifty percent from the use of genetically modified crops, vastly increasing the farmers’ profits (19). The planting of these crops can really help farmers know what they are going to make every year and plan accordingly. Also, helping the farmers’ expenses is the lack of chemical pesticides needed on the crops and reducing time spent using the pricey traditional breeding methods (Mannion and Morse 749-751). Even if genetically modified crops are not planted in every field, adjoining fields can benefit due to the “halo effect.” The “halo effect” is the ability of pest protection on the genetically modified crops to affect the non-genetically modified crops due to the lack of insects in the genetically modified field (754). Genetically modified crops affect the economy in a positive way and should be seen as a smart

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

John Robbins, author of The Food Revolution states that “if genetically engineered plants were designed to reverse world hunger, you would expect them to bring higher yields. But there is increasing evidence that they do just the opposite”. Numerous studies have shown that GM crops do not have a higher yield production, but in fact have at times shown a lower outcome. In 2000, “research done by the University of Nebraska found the yields of GE soybeans were six to eleven percent lower than conventional plants” (Robbins). Evidence that GM foods are not the answer to world hunger continues to pile up. Former US EPA and US FDA biotech specialist Dr. Doug Gurian-Sherman acknowledges that GM crops are not beneficial to solving world hunger: “as of this year [2008], there are no commercialized GM crops that inherently increase yield. Similarly, there are no GM crops on the market that were engineered to resist drought, reduce fertilizer pollution or save soil. Not one” (“10 Reasons Why we don’t Need GM Foods”). Genetically modified corn is a product that has been modified to the extreme in recent years. Here, you can clearly see the physical differences between organic and GM corn. In response to Monsanto’s statement, eighteen African delegates clearly objected, noting that it would undermine their capacity to feed

One in eight people among the world population of seven billion don’t have enough to eat (The Facts about GMO). With the help of GMOs, we have been helping the countries that don’t have enough to eat or are lacking something for what they’re eating. For example, let’s take the golden rice project. Normal white rice doesn’t have that much of proteins in it, that is needed for a day and “the world are lacking low dietary intake of iron, vitamin A, iodine and zinc” (Vitamin A Deficiency). Though rice has a little bit of iron, iodine, and some items of the dietary intake, it doesn’t have the Vitamin A, which is a very important intake in the dietary system. Without having Vitamin A in their food, many poverty counties are struggling with effects it has, such effects can be known as the Vitamin A Deficiency. The symptoms that one can have if they this this deficiency is dry eyes, dry skin, frequent infections, inability to see in dim light, or spots in the eyeball, which can cause he/she to be blind. So if this is the cause of being in a place where the poverty were the dietary system is terrible, we need to do something to help them, and that something is

Erik Vance found that a “Green Revolution” had existed before the introduction of GMOs; people wanted to increase the traits of crops (such as wheat) associated with human consumption to compensate world population growth. By using GMOs, pesticides and herbicides weren’t necessary to fulfill this concept, and they were also less harmful to consumers and the environment. GMOs are also much less expensive than repeatedly buying chemicals to put on crops, making it easily accessible to poorer countries. Also, by genetically modifying crops, they can tolerate the effects of natural disasters and have much higher survival rates than those of unmodified crops. Flood-proof rice is already in effect in some countries, and with positive results. Countries considered to be poor can grow rice totally submerged in water for up to two weeks, and because the genetics of the rice were altered directly in rice fields and not labs, government agencies tended to scrutinize much less (Erik). With the protection against natural forces, crops could be grown virtually anywhere, and may even eliminate other weather-related issues such as drought and long periods of below-freezing weather. GMOs can also help crops and livestock withstand disease. “Several international institutes are developing apples with resistance to dozens of different diseases including fire blight, apple scab, and powdery mildew” (ABC). Countries

Although the U.S. is one of the biggest producers, there are other multiple countries as well, that produce GMOs and GMCs, these countries include China, India, South Africa. Because these countries use GMOs, the rate at which they produce food is escalating quickly, but if GMOs are not used, it could lead to a downfall in food supply as well as increasing poverty, and more homeless. Within the United States GMOs are currently the fastest producing products of food. Without these GMOs and their crops, the U.S. not only would have increased poverty, but it would also run out of their own natural resources own natural resources.

Today’s world is all about how we can be seen as helping others, or how one county is offering support to those in need of it. When Jeremy Seifert starting his work on his film GMO-OMG (Seifert, 2013), the film started by asking people the simple question do they eat GMO. The film goes through the first 2 min of just people responses to that question and it is amazing how people were so unware of what they were eating. GMO are genetically modified organism which as the movie explains there are two primary categories of GMOs, the pesticide producer, and Herbicide resisters (Seifert, 2013) which help farmers to grow crops by making them resistant to bugs or weeds that would have destroyed crops in the past. Monsanto is one of the largest GMO producers of a corn seed that would allow for crops to grow with natural resistant to herbicide and insects. When Jeremy went to Africa to research why some of the locals were rejecting the Monsanto seeds because they said that you could only plant them once and then you would be forever in need of the replace seeds rather than just reusing seeds from the fully grown plants. The Haitian people believed that the seeds of life are a common inheritance of all humanity (Seifert, 2013).

Nobel Prize winner Norman Borlaug pushed the boundaries of conventional farming through biotechnology. He bred crops with desirable characteristics to manipulate the DNA. He is credited for saving billions of lives. This proves that a genetically modified crop or organism can be safe and can help conquer world hunger. This leads into how U.N. agencies discuss hunger crisis. “Essentially, biotechnology improves the characteristics and requirements of food crops through manipulation of plant DNA [deoxyribonucleic acid], or genetic engineering, creating a GMO. Such plants have better insect resistance and herbicide tolerance, and the sustainability of cultivation is increased by minimizing use of pesticides and fertilizers” (Weisser). This can change how we protect crops without using pesticides. Still scientist all over the world are looking for many ways to help world hunger. GMO’s are one of those ways. They are not as bad as people see them. One day GMO’s will save the

In the documentary Food Inc, directed by Robert Kenner, it highlights the perspective of those who oppose Monsanto and other companies that are modifying the food production industry by implementing GMO’s into their seeds. GMO’s, or genetically modified organisms, are living organisms that scientists have in some way changed the genome of to have the resulting organism, such as a seed or crop in the case of Monsanto, express a desired trait. Many think that genetically modifying a seed alters the genes of the plant to the point that it should no longer even be classified as the same plant. Also, many fear the adverse repercussions of consuming GMO’s and the effects that they have on human health. As said previously, one main contributor to

To achieve this goal, I have organized my paper into four sections and two sub-sections. I will begin with and brief description and summary of GMO’s and the scientific consensus on the safety and efficacy of this technology, public opinion that contradicts the science community and the origins of misinformation. Next I will talk about why GMO’s are a major component in solving food insecurity, death, sickness and poverty. In the third section of this paper involves the efforts of green campaigners who undermine science and block GMO technology. To conclude, I will provide examples of the reality of food insecurity worldwide and highlight one significant area to focus resolution efforts, Golden Rice. I

The real reason to use GMO’s is to take over seed production, so they will make more money. The GMO’s used most often are not healthy to feed the world and allowing the farmers to use unhealthy chemicals on their crops does not help the situation. the food. Because of this GMO’s have started effecting the world’s population. Illness, mental illness, physical illness, and other illnesses and diseases have already started affecting our populations directly due to GMO’s being consumed.

Helping the economies of developing countries has been a struggle all throughout history. GMOs have been helping not only developed countries, but also developing countries. In Argentina, herbicide- tolerant crops have been allowing farmers to produce soybeans right after wheat in a growing season, something that was not possible before (Brookes). By being able to farm in this way, Argentinian farmers were able to increase crop yields and control weeds, greatly helping Argentina, which has a struggling economy. But economy boosts are not only happening in Argentina. As Brookes states, “For the 17-year period (1996-2012), the global farm

On average, GM crops do not increase yield in developing countries, but Bt crops resulted in yield increases over seventy percent (Smith, 10 Reasons To Avoid GMOs). Especially in developing countries, food security is major in helping the economy and population. GMOs are not reliable; therefore they should not be promoted in developing countries if traditional agricultural methods are stable. "Current GMOs have nothing to offer the goals of reducing hunger and poverty,

In her book “Going Against GMOs: The Fast-Growing Movement to Avoid Unnatural Genetically Modified Foods”, author Melissa Diane Smith does not hesitate to warn against the use of GMOs, which, in her view, “threaten our environment, food security, and agricultural system”. Most GMO crops are treated with herbicides, which have been found to contaminate both soil and water sources as well as pose health risks once the foods are consumed by humans or animals. To complicate things further, chemical companies, such as Monsanto, Cargill, and DuPont are purchasing vast quantities of the world’s seeds. They modify them genetically and then patent them so they can control food and seed supplies—which means that farmers can no longer collect seeds from their own crops to use in subsequent seasons (Smith 53). If farmers want to stay in business, they must purchase seeds from one of these companies. Many small farmers cannot afford the expense and must seek employment elsewhere.