Food and Genetically Modified Organisms †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Food and Genetically Modified Organisms. Answer: Introduction: Numerous examples depict the advantages of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and its usage. It helps to solve the issues of malnutrition, pesticide usage and climate change. Approximately 800 million people are fighting hunger and malnourishment and can solve the issue of world hunger. Salmon fish became the first GM animal, as fish protein is beneficial for the human health. This has reached the commercial maturity in half time that of wild Salmon and uses 25% less food. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve AquAdvantage through thorough testing and evaluation. Another great breakthrough is lowly moth. Diamondback moth causes Brassica damage including broccoli, cabbages and cauliflower. An UK based biotech company is providing an alternate solution called Oxitech that reduces the crop lost due to moth. A GM diamondback moth kills the young before reaching the adulthood. As a result, females cannot produce and collapses. Another GMO success is GM mosquito that can conquer ma laria. These genes are taken from mice providing strong immune system against the malaria parasite. These mosquitoes then pass these resistant genes to half of their offspring. Apart from this, there are GM plants, crops, seeds like B.t cotton that is helpful in the elimination of chemical pesticides and bring about Green Revolution. Crops like soybean, corn, canola and plum are herbicide tolerant, insect resistance, altered fatty acid composition and virus resistant respectively (Nodoushani, Sintay and Stewart 2015). Without GMOs, it is impossible to overcome the issue of world hunger, pesticides and climate change. Golden Rice and sweet potatoes possess potential to prevent Vitamin A deficiency that can lead to blindness. Salmon provide more seafood to feed the 10 million starving population as it is expected to double by 2050 (Berning and Campbell 2017). Chemical pesticides can also be fought by GMOs. This depicts that GMOs have potential to fight with these issues; however, providing a sustainable solution for the population remains a big question. References Nodoushani, O., Sintay, J. and Stewart, C., 2015, January. Genetically Engineered Food and Genetically Modified Organisms. InCompetition Forum(Vol. 13, No. 1, p. 136). American Society for Competitiveness. Berning, J. and Campbell, B., 2017, January. Consumer Knowledge, Perception and Acceptance of GMOs. In2017 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2017, Mobile, Alabama(No. 252769). Southern Agricultural Economics Association.