As our world grows, so does its demands, as time passes, by demand for natural resources are becoming, greater than the available supply, with this the introduction of genetically modified crops come to agenda.
Hunger is one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st century. Despite some improvements within the last two decades, global hunger is again on the rise, with 2016 data indicating that more than 800 million people around the world suffer from malnutrition. Children under five years of age represent 150 million of those affected, and for roughly three million of these children every year, the struggle ends in death.
After steadily declining for a decade, world hunger is on the rise, affecting nearly 10% of people globally. From 2019 to 2022, the number of undernourished people grew by as many as 150 million, a crisis driven largely by conflict, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
As in our world, we face these problems, many believe that GM crops can also be a solution to this.
Genetically modified crops (GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering methods. In most cases, the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species.
GM crops may be modified to improve yield, enhance nutrition, or better adapt to environmental conditions. They can even be altered to resist pests or eliminate unwanted effects.
As seen from researches, GM crops have more advantages to disadvantages, as these being:
- More nutritious food
- Tastier food
- Disease- and drought-resistant plants that require fewer environmental resources (such as water and fertilizer)
- Less use of pesticides
- Increased supply of food with reduced cost and longer shelf life
- Faster growing plants and animals
- Food with more desirable traits, such as potatoes that produce less of a cancer-causing substance when fried
- Medicinal foods that could be used as vaccines or other medicines
As we see some people expressing their concerns over GM crops, to a big problem, which is quite hard to solve like this, we require realistic solutions, therefore GM crops are a good solution to solving hunger worldwide.
sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_crops
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/are-genetically-modified-crops-answer-world-hunger/
https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/the-hunger-crisis/world-hunger-facts/
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002432.htm