The Problems Of The World 's Population

Thesis: The topic of human population growth is an important issue due to its impacts upon people in developing countries, economics, religion, food production, and the environment; without any limitations, population growth can lead to negative consequences, such as famine and environmental destruction, or even positive outcomes, such as potential economic growth.

Throughout the last few hundred years, humans have built a foundation. Compared to all of the other animal species on Earth, humans are the most intelligent. We have built houses everywhere, developed a system to sustain ourselves, and now inhabit almost every piece of land on earth. Humans are smart, strong, and know how to fend for themselves. But, humans have a tendency to take it too far, and we have already done so. There have been numerous advancements over the past few hundred years which could ultimately lead to the downfall of the human race. The main issue is overpopulation due to the advancements in technology and general knowledge. The statistics from an article by Kenneth Smail show that “In the year 1900, there were almost 2 billion humans living on Earth. Throughout the 1960’s, the baby boom, there were 3 billion humans on Earth. Today in 2016, there are just over 7 billion humans living on Earth.” Currently, we have taken up just over half of all available land on this planet, and with increased amounts of people having kids, our population will only increase. Overpopulation is becoming a serious problem all around the world, especially in countries such as China and India. There are many global problems associated with overpopulation that are becoming more and more prevalent, which will all have dangerous effects on the foundation that humans have

Jonathan Rauch presents evidence that genetically modified food could potentially provide nutrition to save future generations from starving. Ploughing is the process of turning the soil and land with a plow in order to plant new crops. This ensures that the soil will be fresh for planting, and the weeds and other crops will be broken down. However, ploughing can bring about environmental impacts. Ploughing pollutes rivers, erosion that wears away the land, and greenhouse gases that are released into the air. In his essay, Rauch visits a 200-acre farmland which is called Good Luck Tract. This farm is not a typical one. Instead of having flat land for growing, the land was rolling hills. This ensured that there was no pollution, chemical or soil runoff. Since the land was not ploughed, the soil was able to regenerate back to a healthy ecosystem. Issues of erosion and runoff disappeared because the soil was soaking up most of the water. The ecosystem was thriving again, and insects such as worms were doing the ploughing. At this farm, it wasn’t necessary to plough anymore. This means that they were not wasting fuel on ploughing, which means they were saving money, saving energy, and reducing pollution. If every farm stopped ploughing, or even reduced how much they did, it would make for better growing conditions. In this scenario, the field was dense with wheat. It had almost twice the amount that you could grow in regular conditions. The soil was more rich in organic matter, meaning it was more nourishing to the crops. The pressure to produce more food will continue to grow in the upcoming decades. According to the United Nations, the human population will grow by upwards of 40% in 2050. To account for the increasing populations, food outputs will need to double to account for the number of people who will live on this planet. The elimination of the plough depends on genetically modified crops. Rauch goes on to explain

Page enlightens the reader that we already know how to accomplish that task. One of the problems is that the poorer countries do not have the money to afford these better crops. Another issue is the resistance to genetically modified food. Page then argues that the lines are becoming more blurred between genetic engineering and conventional breeding, and that intentionally improving the DNA of crops is more practical than breeding two

In 18th century Europe was ripe from the Industrial Revolution. The world was taking on a more optimistic thinking. However, Thomas Malthus turned against this notion with a pessimist view of population growth. The reproduction of humans and the depletion of food were evident and are still evident today. The world is becoming more populous and with it more prosperous; humans as a whole are consuming more food, water, and natural resources than ever. In Malthus’ time the same

At the beginning of our era approximately 250 million people lived on Earth and by 1650 the population had grown only to 500 million. Yet, the rapid growth of population, starting in the nineteenth century, coincided with the development of the industry making the impact of the humanity on the environment, and in particular on the temperature change, considerable. In 1830 the planet population reached one billion, in 1930 it reached two billion, and four billion around 1975. In 1990 it was estimated 5.3 billion. It is clear that the growing population is consuming more resources, using more energy.

In the past, 90 percent of our nation lived on a family farm and either raised or grew their own food; however, today only two percent of the United States population produces food. Back then, one farmer could only feed around twenty people, and today that one farmer can adequately feed over 150 people. With all of the technological advances over time, it is truly amazing to see how farm agriculturalists have come. Agriculture went from horse drawn equipment to tractors that can drive themselves with the touch of a button. Farmers can now use a breeding method where they genetically modify a crops DNA, which causes quite the commotion among consumers, but can be very beneficial to the producers.

Moreover, it is not a mystery that the human population continues to increase. The world population was estimated in 2050 to be 9.3 billion, 400 million more than previously estimated. It would seem that GMOs would be seen as a light at the end of the tunnel for 3rd world counties, and the health risks of pesticides, and for the years to come. Nonetheless, many people see GMOs as a major danger to the nation. Genetic engineering and biotechnology is creating new methods to help scientists with the issue of feeding the world. Some people argue that GM technology will replace traditional breeding and this is not the case. The importance of solving the problem of food production for a growing population like ours needs to be without harming the environment and will require traditional breeding and organic farming, plus GM crop technology, used to solve the problem at hand. Our human civilization will have the greatest challenge to ensure sufficient food production in the next few years unless all the methods are used accurately and as necessary. (Herrera-Estrella and Alvarez-Morlaes, 256-257).

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

Recently, the world’s population has been going through exponential growth since the industrial revolution because of improvements in technology, medicine, sanitation, and agriculture. The first major increase in the world’s population was during the agricultural revolution that took place about 10,000 years ago (Brennan, Withgott 4). The cause of the increase was that people were beginning to settle and farm, which increased their chance of survival. The second was the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s and caused the greatest amount of growth(Brennan, Withgott 4). This was only because improvements were made in technology involving medicine, sanitation, and agriculture. This allowed life expectancy to increase and the security provided

From “a chicken in every pot” to the Great Chinese Famine, few issues have dominated human and political interest in the way that food security has. Since the Agricultural Revolution, food production has proportionally increased to feed the world population with minor exceptions. In recent centuries, however, supplies have become strained as the global population continues to boom but environmental resources near complete exhaustion. To combat this, technological change is taking place as governments, scientists and farmers work together to scientifically better the agricultural process. Rockefeller Foundation scientists post-World War II, for example, engineered seeds that produced significantly more grain, yielding more for developing countries-

Hunger is currently one of the world’s most widespread crises, affecting millions of people. In every single country of the world, there are people that go to bed without food on a regular basis, and many that end up dying of starvation. One way that the eradication of hunger has been attempted is by increasing the amount of food in the world, so that there is enough to go around. Scientists have tried to do this by creating new species of crops, using genetic engineering. Though genetically modified foods were originally created to improve agriculture, their negative effects greatly outweigh their positive ones.

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

As Lehrer writes in the article “ We, Robots”, compared to expectation on each other, people are extremely eager to take sides on technology (Lehrer, n.d.). In the 21st century, Technology has an extremely significant effect on the lives of individuals. Technology shows people a more efficient way to do things; Medical discoveries occur at an increasingly fast rate and agricultural processes that once required a plenty of human workers can now be automated. Technology also has a profound effect on World Hunger. Hunger is a crucial problem in the world. Cowen (2012) writes that 14.1% of the world 's population starved to death and around 930 million people died because of hunger per year. As a result, scientists have found that genetically modified food is the possible answer for Hunger Problem. However, some scientists announce that because there are certain undiscovered dangers that come along with genetically modified food, it is not the best approach to end world hunger. On the other hand, others claim that the benefits of transgenic food overweigh its negatives. Because of its larger yields of products at more acceptable costs, genetically modified food allows people of different economic levels to access and benefit from the food and in turn, prevents world hunger.

In regards to our ever-changing society, Sir John Beddington proclaimed, “A number of very important factors are about to change our world,” (Beddington). As our species continues to evolve, utilizing the wonders of technology more greatly than ever, we’re faced with dire situations for which a definite, proper answer cannot always be given. One such issue involves the exponential growth of the human populace. As more humans come to live on Earth, more food is needed to sustain life. Scientists believe they’ve discovered our dues ex machina, but as is typical with the human race, people are afraid of what they don’t understand; and thus, they arouse claims lacking any form of scientific foundation. Genetic engineering has opened the gate to global satiation, however, incorrigible individuals have rallied supporters and challenged the solution. Despite their incredulity, genetic engineering has been proven to increase crop yield and to make crops stronger, hardier, and capable of sating the needs of an ever-growing population.