Name: Yazeed Mogran S286387
Genetically modified foods have become a controversial subject over past decade. Genetically modified foods, otherwise recognized as GM foods can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants or animals) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination1. Some people believe that GM foods are important factor to solve the world hunger, while others think it is unnecessary intervention and could affect our health on the long term. This essay will discuss whether the GM food are necessary to fight world hunger or not.
To begin with, food is a primary factor for survival which gives humans the nutrients and energy to grow and develop their bodies. In his influential paper of 1943, A Theory of Human Motivation, Abraham Maslow the well-known American psychologist put forward that healthy human beings have a certain number of needs, and these needs are arranged in a hierarchy, Maslow named the need of food as one of the highest needs to everyone’s life2.
The World Health Organization pointed out that global hunger affected 815 million people (11 percent of the global population) in 2016, and the number has increased considerably driven by rise of conflict around the world and climate change3. Despite the advance technology that we have nowadays, many people still suffer from famine. This issue requires a tremendous effort from scientists in developed countries and GM foods could give a remarkable help to solve the problem.
Furthermore, by using different methods to make some changes in food’s DNA to benefit farmers or big corporations, scientists can produce an insect or virus resistance agricultural output or enhance the nutritional content in fruits or vegetables. This process led to reduce the cost of food production and decrease the use of chemical pesticides, resulting a healthy food and conserve the environment at the same time. For instance, in the Philippines, many childrens suffer from childhood blindness due to the deficiency of vitamin A, the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines (IRRI) developed a type of rice which has been genetically modified by adding additional amount of Vitamin A to battle the blindness in the developing countries4.
In addition, in the UK, scientists h...
