Less than 200 years ago, an Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel founded the science branch, genetics, through countless experiments conducted in his backyard. He utilized pea plants to show the connection and patterns in parents to offspring, which is commonly known as heredity. Although Mendel died multiple decades ago, his research still remains. From that research came the discovery of alleles, genes, and DNA, and researchers are still continuing to develop ways to improve the world using these new investigations. One common product of genetic studies is genetically modified food or GMF. GMFs are made by first picking the desired gene from a plant or animal and inserting that gene into another organism of the same family. Though some might say that this method of genetic modification is unethical as well as harmful to the environment, studies have shown that it is the complete opposite. The use and application of genetically modified food products in everyday society is an advantageous solution and change in the world considering its impact on the environment, economy, and its potential to end world hunger.
One benefit that GMOs give is that it is better for the environment than normal, organic organisms. As it stands, 90 million metric tons of CO2 are emitted per year to sustain farmers and their machinery. In addition, more than fifty percent of that CO2 is put into use in the process of manufacturing pesticides. Nevertheless, a solution stands to this issue, which are GMFs. Plants that are genetically modified need less of a use of pesticides to maintain. They are mostly resistant to bugs and pests and could withstand herbicides. “According to a meta-analysis on the impacts of GM crops, GM technology has reduced chemical pesticide use by 37 percent,” states ISAAA.org, a foundation which aims for agricultural stability and development. Moreover, “In China, the use of Bt cotton resulted in pesticide use reduction of 78,000 tons of formulated pesticides in 2001. This corresponds to about a quarter of all the pesticides sprayed in China in the mid-1990s. Furthermore, another study covering data collected from 1999 to 2012 showed that Bt cotton adoption has caused a significant reduction in pesticide use” (“GM Crops and the Environment”). Therefore, the use of GM crops in agricultural business has already proven to be beneficial to the environment by reducing the use of pesticides and herbicides. Additionally, genetically modified organisms resulted in more rapid growth rates, which reduces the number of natural resources that are needed to raise them. A common problem in agricultural society is the fact that the environment, especially forests, are being cut down or removed to sustain the human population in the way it is right now, as well as to fight against world hunger. However, according to Kurzgesagt, “… we find a way to do it on the land we got right now, with more effective methods like GM crops” (“Are GMOs Good or Bad?” 08:09-08:13). This method would be beneficial to the environment, as well as to farmers, for if organisms grow faster, that means that farmers could grow more crops, and people would have more to eat. Additionally, no more harm would be done to the environment, as farmers are growing crops on preexisting farmlands. Thus, one could conclude that the use of genetically modified organisms would bring positive changes to the environment and would be an essential key to solving climate change.
Beyond the fact that GMFs are beneficial to the environment, they are also proven to be better for the global economy. GMFs are beneficial to the economy for farmers and citizens. Nowadays, with the world population booming, the demand for food is extremely high. However, farmers cannot keep up with that demand, for they can only harvest a certain amount of crops due to the weather, or due to the effect of pests. Also, organisms need time to grow, which may take from about 1 year to 20 years. However, GMFs completely eliminate the issue with pests, as well as weather, for GM plants are specifically designed to be able to resist drought, floods, or pests. Growth is also not a big issue, for “Genetic engineering also helps speed up the process of creating new foods with desired traits. The possible benefits of genetic engineering include: … Faster growing plants and animals” (“Genetically Engineered Foods”). Therefore, one can conclude that the continuation of the use of GMFs in agriculture would be beneficial, for it would be a source of faster, better, and plenty of food. Moreover, meals and ingredients made using GM products are proven to have a longer shelf life than other products. According to a study done by Purdue University, “Avtar Handa, a professor of horticulture, found that adding a yeast gene increases the production of a compound that slows aging and delays microbial decay in tomatoes.” Like this, farmers and stores could yield far more from the numerous products of GMFs, as well as their longer shelf life, giving them more chances to be bought. In conclusion, GMFs are beneficial to both farmers and buyers, proving to become a key point in the agricultural economy.
Other than the possibilities of GMFs giving the economy a boost, it may also have the key to ending world hunger, a crisis that has been lurking for several decades. With its longer shelf life and faster production, GMFs could be the leading solution to world hunger. Besides that fact, GMFs also packs in more protein than normal, non-GM products. This way of ending world hunger seems like a possible task. ISAAA states, “By the year 2050, there will be 9.5 billion people living on this planet. This means that in less than 50 years, the world population is expected to increase by 3 billion. Feeding these people will mean massive changes in the production, distribution, and stability of food products.” Like the ISAAA states, the three key points in solving world hunger are production, distribution, and stability, and GMOs have all three elements. Production is not a problem, for the rapid year-round harvest of organisms like cows or rice keeps up with the demand for food throughout the world. Distribution is also an easy task, for longer shelf life is an advantage, and provides enough time to send food to the countries that are suffering, like Africa. More nutrients in foods also provide a much more stable, reliable food source. Moreover, Kurzgesagt states, “On a larger scale, we’re trying to engineer plants more resilient to climate change, plants that could better adapt to erratic weather and adverse soil conditions, making them resistant to droughts and floods” (“Are GMOs Good or Bad?” 6:56 – 7:07). In such ways, genetically modified organisms have the potential to thrive in harsh environments, such as extremely moist, humid temperatures. This helps civilizations who don’t have necessities or ideal environments to grow crops start an agricultural business. Consequently, one would see and appreciate the approach using GMFs the world could make to fight against world hunger.
Though the benefit to the world that GMFs give is clear to the eye, some may falsely identify genetically modified food products to cause harm to the human body. Some individuals that stand with the con side on this argument claim that GMFs cause allergic reactions and cancer. However, in truth, GMFs cause no direct harm to the human body, and in essence, is the same as organically grown food products. Healthline.com states, “The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have since established protocols for GM foods. They require GM foods to be tested for their ability to cause allergic reactions. According to the Mayo Clinic, none of the GM foods that are currently on the market have been found to have allergenic effects.” In such ways, world organizations such as WHO are keeping possible risks in GMFs in control, and keeping protocols for possible emergencies. Thus, allergic reactions are not a valid counter to the argument that GMFs are a gift from science to the world. In addition, “According to the American Cancer Society, more research is needed to assess the potential long-term health effects of GM foods” (“GMOs: Pros and Cons.”). Though a study in rats concluded that there were signs of cancer and deaths of premature rats, however, the paper was proven to be unreliable for there were not enough rats to firmly conclude that GMFs cause cancer. Hence, all possible rebuttals the opposing side of the debate could make are ineffective, and thus it is clear to see that GMFs are a benefit, not a curse, that humanity made.
Therefore, one can understand that genetically modified foods are beneficial to our world because it is advantageous to the environment, a boost to the economy, and ultimately a solution to end world hunger. Through its faster production speed and longer shelf life, GMFs are proven to be beneficial to the environment and could feed masses of people with the land that the world has already taken away from the planet. Moreover, through its ability to last longer without life necessities, it is beneficial to the agricultural economy. Thus, even though there are a lot of responsibilities for us to carry on with the new technology, one can see that GMFs would be very helpful for solving various problems that occur in this world.
