Gmo Essay

GMO Essay

Why should the savior of many, many people be removed from the market without any factual evidence to prove it wrong? Genetically modified foods are a significant part of the agricultural industry around the world. Genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) are foods that have been genetically engineered to improve and enhance flavor, reduce production costs, and produce higher yields of crops. By doing these things, GMO’s can create an abundance of food, allow farmers to become self-sufficient, financially help impoverished farmers and add to the world economy, and also decrease greenhouse gas emissions and help the environment.

In 1990, 19% of the world’s population was undernourished or starving. Now in 2015, only 11.3% of the world is starving. GMO’s have a tremendous hand in this drastic decrease in starvation percentage. “GM crops are allowing farmers to grow more without using additional land” (Brookes, Barfoot 124). Farmers are able to produce more food in a smaller area of land and in a smaller time frame thanks to GMO’s abilities to produce higher yields. GMO’s also allow the common farmer to become self-sufficient. Once a crop doesn't grow properly or gets damaged, farmers start panicking: “What do I do now? I can’t grow another crop this season, how will I feed my family?” Genetically modified foods have eased some of the impoverished farmers’ stress. Biotechnology has helped, “...farmers in Argentina grow a crop of soybeans after wheat in the same growing season,” (Brookes, Barfoot 30). This newly version of year round crops have revolutionized agriculture. The IR36 is an excellent example of this. The IR36 was a new strain of rice that was created in the early 1990’s. This strain was capable of being grown year round and also produces a bigger head of grain. Using this strain of rice, “India became self-sufficient in grain production…” (de Blij, etc. 377). These few benefits have contributed to lowering world hunger and provide enough food to people worldwide.

After farmers produce their tons of food, they need something to do with the crops so they can grow more. Farmers take these “farm fresh” foods to the market to make money. GMO’s have increased farmers’ salaries monumentally. From 1996 to 2011 there has been a 51% increase in farmers’ salaries, and 90% of that salary increase was seen in farmers in developing countries. It is also essentially cheaper to buy and plant GMO crops. Now crops have been genetically engineered so that herbicides and pesticides are not needed. They have natural bug repellent genes in them. “The insect-resistant technology used in cotton and corn has consistently delivered yield gains from reduced pest damage,” (www.croplife.com). Due to the built in pesticides in GM crops, farmers no longer need to spend all of their money on strong pesticides to kill off pests. Since pests are no longer an issue, farmers can use the money they saved to grow more food and feed more and more people. Growing more food will result in more food be sold and bought. Thus, adding to the world economy and financially improving the lives of farmers worldwide.