Biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology
The purpose of this essay is to identify the benefit of biotechnology. Crops are the main source of food and energy for the humans. Loads of vitamins, proteins and minerals can be consumed by humans in the form of vegetables, fruits, beans and rice. With the advancements in biotechnology, the scientists have been able to create genetically modified crops which have greater strength against pests and insects. Moreover, these genetically modified crops can produce with lesser requirement of water and nutrient soil. As the population in the world is growing exponentially now and the requirement for food and water is increasing, scientists claim that genetically modified crops are the only solution for the growing demand of food. It is true that genetically modified crops are the only solution to the increasing number of mouths to feed and the decreasing fertile land. We should also keep in mind that clean water is getting scarce every day and the global economy is finding it difficult to cope up with the increasing demand of food internationally.
Genetically Modified (GM) crops are stronger, resistant to pests and insects. GM crops are not only stronger but also they offer a pleasant way to avoid insects and pests. They do not require pesticides and insecticides. The crops that are not genetically modified require continuous support by insecticides and pesticides to grow properly and be stronger. However, these chemicals are carried down the food chain and harm the humans in the long run. Moreover, the pesticides and insecticides are a cause of great danger to marine life and wild life. The use of pesticides and insecticides can be slashed forever with the help of GM crops. Hence, with the use of GM crops, the chances of destruction of crops by insects and pests are few because they are much stronger than the traditional crops (Hebir 2008).
There has been a misconception about the GM food that it is not healthy and it does not taste the same as the original food. However, the truth is that all the living things in the world do change their genetic structure overtime. This is to ensure that the living beings are in sync with their surroundings. However, the humans have changed the world rapidly and the crops did not get so much time to adapt to the environment. Hence it is difficult for most of the crops to survive the change in global temperature, the disasters and water shortages. However, if the gene structure of these crops is changed, they can be made to consume less water and fertilizers and fight pests on their own. As mentioned by Prakash and Conko (2004), almost 740 million people in the world sleep without having food and close to 40,000 deaths result due to hunger. The hunger stricken countries' governments need to be more cooperative with World Food Program and other agencies and should start accepting GM food for the benefit of their own people. Only through the consumption of GM food, these casualties can be decreased and hunger can be removed from the world.
Increasing floods, droughts and other natural disasters are causing a loss of millions of tons of crops each year. In 2010 alone, there were huge incidents of floods in Pakistan, India and China (Pearson, 2010). These floods were caused by massive rains and overflowing of rivers. Most of the crops in Pakistan and India were wiped out with the floods. Additionally, 2010 has also witnessed a series of volcanic eruptions. The major ones took place in Indonesia and Iceland (Kaku 2010). These natural disasters render huge acres of land as non-harvestable. No crops can be grown on such land because of the extreme salinity or alkalinity in these lands. Therefore the increasing ratio of infertile land to fertile land in the world is cutting out options for harvesting crops. GM crops can help the humans in such situation as they are much more productive than the traditional crops. GM crops can yield up to double the amount of crop with much lesser requirement of water and fertilizers.
Genetically Modified food also known as the Superfoods' give the consumers more choice (Szczepanska 2008). They can choose from a large mango and a small mango. Even the shapes and tastes of the fruits and vegetable can be changed. This is especially helpful when transporting large and oval fruits and vegetable such as pumpkin or watermelon. Japan harvested watermelon similar to the shape of a cube which is easier to transport to the international market. Most importantly, GM crops are needed to provide nutrients to the people who suffer from malnutrition. Through playing with the genes of the crops, the farmers can increase the nutrients like calcium, of some vitamins in specific vegetables or fruits. This can be essentially useful to help the people who are not able to afford nutritious food and the children who do not consume nutritional food.
The richer nations do not prefer genetically modified crops but the poor nations like Ghana, Afghanistan and Nepal should invest in biotechnology to feed the population. The poor countries do not have enough sources to feed all the population as most of the people are uneducated and dependent on the government for food supplies. The land that can be used for agriculture is also limited in these countries. According to the World Food Program (2009), millions of people in Ghana are still vulnerable to hunger as the food prices have increased globally and the financial crunch continues. Research in biotechnology is difficult and expensive as well because the government needs to hire scientists who can support the research. Therefore it is not possible for the poor countries to invest as they do not have millions of dollars to spare on research and technology. In this case the foreign firms should invest in these poor countries. The benefits for investing in such countries' biotechnology program are very clear. The government will waive any taxes for such companies who are willing to invest and these companies will make a sure profit on the sale of these genetically modified crops. It is interest in both, the poor countries and the multinationals as well to invest in such projects.
GM food is not only safe to consume but it is environment friendly as well. With all the natural disasters, the decreasing clean water and limited land resources Currently, GM crops are the only answer to eradicate the hunger in poor countries. There can be no substitute to food as human require it for energy and for consuming minerals and vitamins. It is recommended to the poor countries to help their population and accept GM food from international agencies that are trying to help them.
References
Conko, G & Prakash, C 2004, Can GM Crops Play a Role in Developing Countries?', Biotechnology and Developing Countries: The potential and the challenge 13 December, viewed 13 November 2010, PBI Bulletin.
Hebir, B 2008, Fear of "Frankenstein food" is groundless', Crunch Time for GM Foods 13 February, p. 29, viewed 13 November 2010, Nursing Standards.
Kaku, M 2010, What next from Iceland's Volcano?, viewed 13 November 2010,
Peasron, M 2010, Pakistan floods hit 14 million people as heat parches Russia, US Midwest, viewed 13 November 2010, < http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-10/pakistan-floods-hit-14-million-people-as-heat-parches-russia-u-s-midwest.html>
Szczepanska, S 2008, "Superfoods" offer consumers more choice', Crunch Time for GM Foods 13 February, p. 29, viewed 13 November 2010, Nursing Standards.
World Food Program 2009, Supporting Ghana's Fight Against Hunger, viewed 13 November 2010,
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