Essay Example on Genetically Modified Foods: Benefits for Global Food Security

The advancements in science and technology have led to a vast invention in the field of biotechnology. The rise in the world population exerts pressure on natural resources as well as food sources. Therefore, alternative ways of meeting the food requirements are necessitated to meet the food demands of the growing world population. Research in genetically modified food provides a significant food solution to the world population. This paper presents an extensive evaluation of the benefits of genetically modified foods based on health, quality of food, and productivity of food.

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One of the new and promising attributes of GM foods is genetic engineering to enhance the nutritional value of diet in the frequent sharing of dietary schedule. GM foods provide a means of bringing novel traits into crops, especially types of plants such as maize and rice that contain limited and specific nutritional values, which will result in an increased risk of malnutrition. Genetically modified foods improve nutritional benefits through single foods such as rice (Acker, Rahman, & Cici, 2017). As a result, it enables people to acquire the nutrition they require and fight malnutrition, especially in developing countries. Unless adequate amounts of safe and nutritious foods are accessible and available, human health is not achievable during all stages of life. Improving daily food nutritional content consumption has day to day effects. Still, the long term effects that extend for decades are the most significant throughout an individual’s life. In many instances, improving micronutrients and macronutrients has vital improvements, such as reducing blindness due to the absence of vitamin availability in childhood health. Improved nutrient content in food, especially the increase of mineral violability, reduce stunting, and improves the immunity systems.

The driving forces behind efforts to gain equitable distribution of food among the global population of today include biological imperatives and humanitarian concerns for achieving food and nutrient security. In the light of mounting rising quality of life expectations and population pressures, there is a challenge to meet the current global needs and those in the future on food while also recognizing the limited increase in arable farm resources. The ripening rate in plants is one of the essential factors in plant export and delivery and can directly affect a country’s economy. Conversely, the accelerated ripening of a few dairy products such as cheddar cheese by overexpression of enzymes ramified in the process of maturation has resulted in an exceptional improvement in the dairy industry with decreased lactose content or humanized bovine milk (Karami & Shotorbani, 2018). A similar scheme has been popularized to double the growth of salmon fish, resulting in an increased supply of fish, which may ease pressure caused by heavy fishing. Significant contributions to address sustainable development goals, especially reducing poverty and hunger, have been achieved through genetically modified foods. Increased crop yields have contributed to higher household incomes that, in turn, reduce poverty, and increased yields have also enhanced food security to a household. GMO food allows people to limit food wastage, especially in developing countries, so that hunger can be potentially eliminated and reduced. Food supplies become predictable, which results in a constant supply of food products (Smyth, 2020). This provides an opportunity to minimize the presence of food deserts on the world, providing a wider population with an excellent chance of nutrition that may not have existed. There is a heavy burden on the world to assure food security in all countries, and genetically modified foods are the solution to the declining food reserves. Increased crop yield obtained through any method lowers the cost for consumers because a particular crop is produced in massive quantities with less labor and time that was previously necessary. Moreover, genetically engineering technology produces higher yields, which results in more workers' need to harvest significantly higher yields, creating employment opportunities.

Genetically modified foods hold the potential for improving human health and nutrition. The development of crop varieties that are insect resistant has the potential to improve human health through the lessening of cancer rates. Before the commercialization of genetically modified crops, mainly maize, there was increased damage to the harvested crops by insects, which increased the potential for harmful health effects development (Karami & Shotorbani, 2018). Mycotoxins are both carcinogenic and toxic to animals and humans and are considerably more concerning in developing economy food systems where toxicity tests to food safety are prevalent. Fumonisins are considered to be the cause of higher rates in neural tube defects in high maize-based diets. Due to the lack of any other option, corn containing mycotoxins are consumed by a household’s diet in many developing countries due to existing food security challenges. S (Karami & Shotorbani, 2018). Nutritionally enhanced foods enhance an individual’s nutrient intake, treating and preventing leading causes of death such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Colors can be improved or changed with genetically modified foods, so they become pleasing to eat. Food with deeper colors changes the brain's perception of what is being eaten; they make foods seem sweeter eve if it's not. Improved flavors and Better nutrition are associated with brighter foods. It has become possible to produce certain vaccines and proteins along with pharmaceutical foods through a process known as pharming as a result of genetic modifications. This has resulted in cheaper methods of improving personal health and could change how certain medications are administered to patients in the future. Genetic modification may result in new color pigment in the leaves of a plant that wards off persistent insects s that the plant is allowed to grow normally into a healthy food source. An identical method of protecting crops involves instilling genetically pesticide resistance and herbicide tolerance in plants that farmers want to remain unaffected by chemicals. If a weed-killing herbicide harmed a farmer's crops, genetic modification confers herbicide resistance in crops so that they would be unaffected by herbicides aimed at destroying the weeds (Dancer & Shiel, 2019). Developing antibiotics and vaccines are the noblest goals of medical researchers. With the aid of genetic modification, that goal is becoming more realistic. In recent years, edible vaccines have been developed by biotechnologists that contain the power to protect people against diseases and could only be ingested to be effective. The edible vaccines provide a more practical way of controlling disease than traditional immunizations and come at lower costs for the customer.

Conclusion

In conclusion, genetically modified foods have influenced the lives of modern society in various approaches. Food quality in terms of nutrition, health impact, and food security are some of the areas directly affected by the advent of genetically modified foods. The increased world population and the decline in natural resources have increased the threat of food insecurity, which can be resolved by the adoption of genetic engineering of food products. The modification of food is aligned with particular nutritional requirements. These include the health requirements, specific dietary demands in the society eliminating the risk of diseases, and the quality and quantity of food. Therefore, it can be deduced that genetically modified foods have improved the general quality of life across the world.

References

Dancer, H., & Shiel, C. (2019). Exploring Attitudes towards Genetically Modified Foods: Is There a Connection between People who are Concerned About the Environment and their Attitudes towards GM Foods. Meliora: International Journal of Student Sustainability Research, 2(1).

Karami, F., & Mahasti Shotorbani, P. (2018). Genetically modified foods: Pros and cons for human health. Food and Health, 1(2), 18-23.

Smyth, S. J. (2020). The human health benefits from GM crops. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 18(4), 887-888.

Thomson, J. A. (2018). The pros and cons of GM crops. Functional Plant Biology, 45(3), 297-304.

Van Acker, R., Rahman, M., & Cici, S. Z. H. (2017). Pros and cons of GMO crop farming. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science.