Essay Sample on U.S. Farmers Increase Crop Production to Meet Food Demand

Introduction

Since the early 2000s, the world has seen a rapid rise in the demand for food. Due to its higher population, the United States of America (USA) felt highly pressured to increase its food supply. Long et al. (2015) indicated that the high demand, coupled with the weak economic ability of a significant percentage of consumers, forces farmers to initiate mechanisms that would help them meet the needs of their market. The basic approach that has hit the headlines in the news of crop production and processing is the genetic engineering of the available plants to produce what the farmers think is an improvement of the original food crops. These categories of foods have triggered concerns and elicited debates regarding what effects do might the foods cause to human health and the environment if the two regularly consumed the crops (Norero, 2018). Food, Inc., a 2008 movie done under the directions of Robert Kenner, gives insights into the food industry from the times of Agrarian Revolutions to periods just before 2007. The film shows steady growth in corn farms, from 1.7 million hectares in 1996 to 143 million hectares in 2007. Corns take a substantial portion of controversies about the genetic engineering of food crops. Kenner revealed how food companies use genetic manipulation to introduce characteristics that prioritize their benefits at the expense of consumers’ health. This paper utilizes the film to rebuke the use of genetically modified (GM) crops as food, highlighting the associated consequences of their intake and the weakness in the presentations of those who would support the consumption of modified diets.

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Position and Support Arguments

GM food is not fit both for humans and animal consumption. Three premises substantial this claim. Firstly, the use of foods leads to inefficacies in human physique. Food, Inc. depicts a corresponding surge in obesity cases within the populations that heavily depend on such foods. Similar results were evident from Shao and Chin's (2011) research that evaluated the relationship between the trends in American foods and obesity cases. The genetic modifications of corns interfere with the ordinary biological constituents of crops and introduce substances that have a long-term distortion of human body structure (Shao & Chin, 2011). Secondly, the consumption of genetically engineered crops servers as a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Food Inc revealed the unethical practices of modifying the crops to induce higher calorie levels and initiate faster maturity. The high levels of calories in inadequately mature foods make people's bodies fail in balancing their insulin levels (Kenner et al., 2008). In the movie, Barbara Kowalcyk mourns the loss of her son Kevin to a medical complication caused by Haemorrhages E. Coli bacteria common in undercooked ground beef. A study by Chen at al. (2014) established higher diabetic cases in populations that heavily depend on corn and corn products as their primary food. Turning overweight due to the consumption of corn lowers the consumer's ability to produce enough insulin causing diabetes type 2 (Chen at al., 2014). Thirdly, despite diabetes and obesity triggering a clear link with genetically engineered foods, Food, Inc also revealed that regular use of GMOs serves as a risk factor for Salmonella Typhi. The film replays television news that reported confirmation of over 552 cases Salmonella outbreak in the nation by the Centre for Disease Control. CDC indicated the bacteria resulted from the reckless handling between the production points to consumption points, introducing unhealthy substances in the foods (Kenner et al., 2008).

Counter Arguments

In contrast, a section of scholars’ views is in support of GM foods. Among their various arguments, three appear weighty and triggers evaluation. The first argument for the group is that genetic modification of crops improves food characteristics. Some of the traits are the intentional introduction of nutritional values that would benefit human beings. Long et al. (2015) noted that through the process, food researchers could improve vitamin C content in grass crops like maize, or increase insulin and calcium levels in potatoes. Since such constituents are necessary for the good of the human body, the scholars approve the use of the products as food for people and animals. Secondly, another group of academics argues that genetically engineered (GE) foods have no significant health effects on the human body. The National Academies of Sciences (2016) claimed that it executed research comparing GE to ordinary maize. They did not confirm any significant difference in the harm of the two categories of maize. Lastly, after performing a study on the performance indicators of animals feeding on modified and ordinary maize, the National Academies of Sciences (2016) noted higher performance levels in animals fed on GE food crops. According to research, an increase in performance resulted from the low level of secondary infections, which led to mycotoxin's reduced chances of contamination. Consumption of feed contaminated with mycotoxins reduces animal health and productivity. The use of genetically engineered crops, thus prevents such infections. This aspect forms the basis for scholars’ arguments in support of GM foods.

Rebuttal of Counter Arguments

Despite the counter-arguments providing reasonable opinions in support of genetic modification of food, all of them fail in one central area; their advocates do not evaluate the long-term effects of using the products on human and animal health. The scholars’ claim that modifying food crops and animals improve their characteristics. This inference lacks merit since the modification only improves what consumers would prefer to see. In the film, Kenner et al. (2008) indicated that most of the companies in the production chain, like Smithfield and Tyson, refused to be interviewed to hide the flaws in food processing. Due to the induced faster maturity, the food crops and animals do not get adequate time to undergo all the necessary biological stages that make it fit even for regular and long-term use. The speedy growth makes the crops develop and hold harmful constituents for the human body. Food Inc. indicates the modification that companies inject to chickens to make them mature fast and grow twice as big. Carole Morison, a Perdue farmer, confirms how allergic the antibiotics injected in the chickens are to human health, and she cannot consume the chickens (Kenner et al., 2008). A majority of dietetic proteins induced during the modification processes hydrolyze and digest into smaller substances hinders immune response in the consumers. Although the supporters of the modifications claim that the crops do not adversely affect the human body, the coincidence between high levels of type 2 diabetes, obesity, and Salmonella in the populations who heavily dependent on GE foods as sources for their food is an alarm to some undisclosed harm. Since human health is paramount over the economic benefits that farms in agri-business accrue, the need to have a healthy population castigates the use of genetically modified foods.

Conclusion

Regular intake of genetically engineered crops is harmful to human health. The assertion derives from the evaluation of both support or counter-arguments of the use of such foods. As seen from the discussions that oppose the use, regular consumption of the crops is likely to cause inefficacies in body structure, health complications like diabetes, and medical complications like typhoid. While the support arguments point at faster growth of crops, the introduction of desirable nutrients, and high-performance levels in animals that feed on the plants, their advocates fail to ignore the notion that in the long run, the food would harm humans and animals regularly use GM foods. The modification of the crops not only causes threat due to the bio-chemicals added into the crops; the reduction of maturity periods denies the plants or animals to develop into the best biological composition that would still be beneficial in the human body the long-run. To prevent people from the consequences of GE foods, all stakeholders in food production and processing should purpose proper maturity of food crops, prevent injection of chemicals to speed the growth, and ensure appropriate handling of the foods until they reach consumers.

References

Chen, Z., Watanabe, R. M., Stram, D. O., Buchanan, T. A., & Xiang, A. H. (2014). High calorie intake is associated with worsening insulin resistance and β-cell function in Hispanic women after gestational diabetes mellitus. Diabetes care, 37(12), 3294-3300. https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/37/12/3294.short

Long, S. P., Marshall-Colon, A., & Zhu, X. G. (2015). Meeting the global food demand of the future by engineering crop photosynthesis and yield potential. Cell, 161(1), 56-66. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867415003062

National Academies of Sciences (2016). Human Health Effects of Genetically Engineered Crops. In Genetically Engineered Crops: Experiences and Prospects. National Academies Press (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK424534/

Norero, D (2018, February 23). GMO Crops Have Been Increasing Yield for 20 Years, With More Progress Ahead. Alliance for Science. https://allianceforscience.cornell.edu/blog/2018/02/gmo-crops-increasing-yield-20-years-progress-ahead/

Shao, Q., & Chin, K. V. (2011). Survey of American food trends and the growing obesity epidemic. Nutrition research and practice, 5(3), 253-259. https://synapse.koreamed.org/DOIx.php?id=10.4162/nrp.2011.5.3.253