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Introduction
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are by far the most contentious topic in agriculture and food security efforts. These crops and food products, formed through manipulation of DNA in a laboratory setting, are programmed to resist disease, drought, herbicide, etcetera, by inserting a gene from one plant or animal species into the modified plant’s DNA sequence. The science is controversial because consumers are suspicious of technology that combines different species to create what critics call “frankenfood.” However, scientists and development specialists argue that GM technology has the potential to start a “Gene Revolution,” building off of agricultural success in the Green Revolution and bringing widespread food security in Africa. GM products increase agricultural productivity, and second-generation GMOs can also provide more necessary nutrients to malnourished people. Despite this optimistic expectation, GM technology has been slow to spread on the African continent and has been met with widespread skepticism and distrust. Currently, South Africa, Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Egypt are the only African countries to commercially produce biotech crops. A larger number of countries are conducting extensive field trials and R&D programs, but there are several African countries that are outright opposed to GMO production. Analyses of this opposition abound, but no one has thus far been able to offer a definitive explanation for why these countries are so opposed to the technology.
This paper will seek to better understand and refine this question by outlining the scientific studies concerning GMO safety, summarizing Europe’s policies on GMOs, and discussing GMOs in Africa by observing three individual case studie...
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Minde, I.J., and Kizito Mazvimavi. "The Economics of Biotechnology (Gmos) and the Need for a Regional Policy: The Case for Comesa Countries." In AAAE Ghana Conference, 377-81, 2007.
Mugabe, John. "Keeping Hunger at Bay: Genetic Engineering and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa." In Technopolicy Briefs: African Technology Policy Studies Network, 2003.
Okeno, James A., Jeffrey D. Wolt, Manjit K. Misra, and Lulu Rodriguez. "Africa's Inevitable Walk to Genetically Modified (Gm) Crops: Opportunities and Challenges for Commercialization." New Biotechnology 30, no. 2 (January 2013): 124-30.
Paarlberg, Robert. "Gmo Foods and Crops: Africa's Choice." New Biotechnology 27, no. 5 (November 2010): 609-13.
———. "The Real Threat to Gm Crops in Poor Countries: Consumer and Policy Resistance to Gm Foods in Rich Countries." Food Policy 27 (2002): 247-50.
Genetically modified? That alone should be a cause for alarm, and have you wondering, what exactly is in this that I am eating? Yet every day millions of American’s choose to load up on food filled with GMO’s, and not even know it. First we must understand what GMO’s are. GMO’s are any organism whose genetics has been altered using genetic engineering. We should not be tampering with nature, and should try to grow organically as much as possible. There has not been enough research on GMO’s to know the potential long term effects it can have on us, so this is why GMO’s should be banned.
Our attitudes toward GMO foods range from hostility to indifference. GMO foods, like pesticide-resistant Roundup Ready soybeans and fast-growing salmon, seem to exist primarily to pad corporate pockets. Most people are not aware that they are eating GMO foods. The greater percentage of the population is just looking at the price tag instead of what is in the food product. This technology has the potential to provide sustainable nutrient rich food sources throughout the ages if the science is not abused for the food industry’s
Food is an essential part of everyday life without it one could not survive. Every day we make choices on what we put in to our bodies. There are countless varieties of food to choose from to meet the diverse tastes of the increasing population. Almost all food requires a label explaining the ingredients and the nutritional value allowing consumers to make informed decisions on what they are consuming. However, many may not be considering where that food is coming from or how it has been produced. Unfortunately, there is more to food than meets the eye. Since 1992, “ the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled, based on woefully limited data, that genetically modified foods were ‘substantially equivalent’ to their non-GM counterparts” (Why to Support Labeling). GM food advocates have promised to create more nutritious food that will be able to grow in harsh climate conditions and eventually put an end to world hunger in anticipation of the growing population. There is very little evidence to support these claims and study after study has proven just the opposite. GM crops are not only unsafe to consume, but their growing practices are harmful to the environment, and multinational corporations are putting farmers out of business.
In a feeble attempt to cure world hunger scientists developed GMOs, or 'genetically-modified organisms', which are genetically enhanced crop plants created for human consumption, and although GMOs were initially designed to benefit the world, it appears as though they are doing as much harm as they are good. Originally, GMOs were designed to c...
Chetty, L., and C. D. Viljoen. “GM Biotechnology: Friend And Foe?.” South African Journal Of Science 103.7/8 (2007): 269-270.Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Nov. 2011.
How many of you hear the words “genetically modified food” and immediately think “BAD”? How many of you scorn the idea that genetically modified foods are useful? How many of you have been manipulated by the media to think that all biotechnology is evil? Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have been genetically spliced to achieve a certain trait. As the demand for a larger food supply is increasing due to population growth, the benefits that GMO foods provide are being hailed as the only solution to the food crisis. However, many people are making inadequately informed decisions, and are pushing them to the back shelf. I will inform you on why genetically modified organisms may be the only way to a stable, safe future for the less fortunate.
Advocates claim that the world may benefit greatly from the production and consumption of GM foods, especially those countries with high rates of poverty and starvation. Experts insist that the GM products will put an end to world hunger. It is estimated that the world population will grow up to 9 billion people in 2050, and a good alternative to feed them is the GM products. Nowadays, in almost all African countries people are dying because of hunger and hunger-related diseases. The estimate of life expectation in these countries is fifty seven years old, and it will decrease to forty seven in 2020 (kwengwere 2-3). The governments of these countries are battling to put a stop to this unfair situation. Experts have said that the best alternative is the implementation of GM cultures in Africa; it will reduce the deaths, increase the life expectations and nourish the whole continent (Forsberg 1). The future of Africa is uncertain, but it is sure to depend on the hands of GM p...
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a cause of continuous debate. What would be the purpose of producing genetically altered food? Many argue that GMOs could prove to be very beneficial, the use of GMOs could lead to advances in medicine, and agriculture, and they could also prevent famine in poor underdeveloped countries. Genetic modification offers many benefits: pest control, disease resistant crops, drought resistant crops, no use of insecticides, nutritional beneficial foods, and less contamination. This is only a short list of the many benefits offered by the used of GMOs. With so many benefits why are we opposed to such a miracle? (NERC 2005)
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 everyone sufficiently. No simple solutions can be found or applied when there are so many lives involved. Those who are hungry and those who are over fed, alike, have to consider the consequences of Genetically Modified Organisms. Food should not be treated like a commodity it is a human necessity on the most basic of levels. When egos, hidden agendas, and personal gains are folded into people's food sources no one wins. As in many things of life, there is no true right way or wrong way to handle either of the arguments and so many factors are involved that a ‘simple’ solution is simply not an option.
GM crops also benefit the economy and assist in feeding more people. While we struggle with feeding our population, “The population will continue to grow” (Calandrelli 1) For instance, genetic engineering in agriculture can minimize the cost of producing food. Thus, GMO’s in crops can result ...
Developed countries, like the United States, must face the consequences of presenting GM crops to Third World countries and must offer to solve any problems with honest and just solutions. Developed countries can then truly say that they are responsible leaders of the world. Works Cited Anderson, Clifton. The "Genetic Engineering" The Futurist. The.
The demand for non-GMO foods is on a great rise all around the world. "Non-GMO products accounted for $550 billion of the 5 trillion global food and beverage retail market in 2014". Many people, in today's times, are being offset by negative perceptions of GMO products. Numerous consumers have pre-dispositions and attitudes when it comes to their intentions of purchasing GMO foods. Consumers believe that "scientifically altered crops could be unethical and unsafe".
Founou-Tchuigoua, Bernard Food self-sufficiency: Crisis of the collective ideology African agriculture: The critical choices. United Nations University Press (1990) ISBN 0-86232-798-9
We live in a world that is constantly changing and advancing thanks to technological advancements, especially in the field of molecular genetics. Today, we are discovering and implementing new ways to overcome the ill-fated symptoms developed as a result from poor health or accidents. We are also making advancements in the field of agriculture thanks to molecular genetics. As we all know, food is an essential entity in our lives and is abundant as well as relatively easy to obtain here in the United States. However, as good as it may sound, this is not necessarily true for developing countries. Many people in developing countries receive very little food, if any, due to its scarcity. It is estimated that in Asia alone, close to 800 million people go to bed hungry every night due to food shortage. This problem can be alleviated by turning to the production of genetically modified organisms (a.k.a. GMOs).
Retrieved March 9, 2011, from http://hfgfoodfuturist.com/2010/12/09/future-evolution-of-genetic-engineering.html. Union of Concerned Scientists (2002). Biotechnology and the worlds food supply. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from http://ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/science_and_impacts.