The Benefits of Genetically Modified Organism Products - Essay Example

English Composition II

July 13, 2020

The Benefits of the Controversial Genetically Modified Organism Foods in Society Today

The phrase genetically modified organism (GMO) refers to a plant, animal, microorganism, or other living things whose genetic make-up has undergone laboratory engineering or transgenic alteration. The structural make-up of the organisms undergoes modification to form bacteria, viruses, plants, and animals that do not come as a result of natural occurrences or traditional cross-breeding experiences. It means that GMOs are living organisms whose genetic compositions have been altered to achieve a given desire. This engineering process has been witnessed in many fields and affects most of the products consumed in domestic and commercial purposes across the globe (Teng et al., 2018). This has necessitated the establishment of agencies to put measures and standards in place to verify and approve the GMO-based products. The focus of researchers who invented GMO technology was to utilize their expertise in plant and animal breeding to come up with organisms that can optimize the use of the natural resources available in their niches. The advances in the breeding patterns of GMO technology have led to tangible and quantifiable merits to humanity and eco-balance. The GMO has made positive contributions because it helps produce food products that eradicate food insecurity and are nutritious, fast-maturing, disease-resistant, economical, and safe to produce.

GMO technology assists man to address the problem of food insecurity. Food insecurity is one of the perpetual problems that people have been facing in society. GMOs is a simple way of achieving food sustainability using cost-effective measures. The technology has found prominence in controlling crop pests that had traditionally caused damage to the grain basket. For instance, bacteria have been used in cornfields in the US to fight harmful pests such as stock borers and bollworms used to reduce production in the farms. Corn farmers in the US have reported that genetically modified pest controls have effectively managed the damage caused in farms with extensive benefits that spread over to the neighboring plots. Besides the physical danger eminent in the fields, GMO has been effective in fighting pathogens in the farms. The technology is used to suppress the danger posed to crops as it has the ability to prevent them from attack by disease-causing agents (Chow et al., 2016). This technology has found prominence in fighting viruses and other pathogens affecting potatoes, citrus fruits and cassava. Ultimately, man is guaranteed constant supply of food by inventing strategies to protect crops from damage by pests and diseases by modifying their genes to be more resilient to drought and pestilence.

GMO technology has led to the production of nutritious and tastier foods. For food to serve its intended purpose, it should be as nutritious as possible. Meaning, it should contain all the required elements such as protein, carbohydrates, starch, vitamins, and minerals. Each of these elements should be available in the food because they enrich and make it much better. Therefore, when developing GMO foods, the manufacturers ensure that they add all the required nutrients. This is a good idea because it has been helping in the improvement of the value of these foods Rosa, et al., 2019). The end result is that these foods become tasty, delicious, and nutritious. In this regard, it implies that despite the fact that these food products are genetically-modified, they can still satisfy human nutritious needs. They can satisfy the users because they are tasty and can be enjoyed when eaten. Because of this, the foods can be consumed by everyone including the adults, children, and the elderly. Each of these consumers gets to obtain the kinds of nutrients that they need. It is, therefore, upon the manufacturers to ensure that GMO food has the right taste and nutritious content. Tasty foods are suitable for human consumption.

The use of GMO food products has been beneficial because it has helped in supplementing the conventional agricultural practices. Over the years, agricultural activities have been crumbling because of the many climatic, environmental, technological, and economic problems encountered by the farmers in the course of production process. However, with the introduction of GMO technology, such challenges will no longer arise. That is because the technology will contribute towards the solution of most of these challenges. First and foremost, GMO technology has helped in the creation of disease-resistant crop and animal species. The fact that these crops and animals can resist pests and diseases implies that they cannot be threatened by any diseases that might contribute to their deaths (Paull, 2019). Besides, the technology has helped in providing an alternative to the farmers because they can now engage in farming activities in an economical manner. GMO technology is economical because it does not require a lot of money in order to cultivate crops and keep livestock. Better still; the technology helps in the bringing up of the fast-maturing crop and livestock breeds. All these indicate that GMO technology has been helping the farmers to minimize the costs of operations. Unlike in conventional farming, GMO technology avails crop and animal breeds that are economical and convenient to raise.

It is an effective way of maintaining bio-diversity and eco-balance. Integration of the genetically modified crops and advanced breading technology has been adopted to increase farm productivity without the need to increase the size of land. The technology enables products to preserve their natural habitats by replenishing the used nutrients in the farms. Besides, the technique requires farmers to practice enhanced minimum tillage, reduction in the use of insecticides as well as adoption of environmentally benign chemicals in farms. The intention of the technique is to protect biodiversity by enhancing production in the usual farms in order to reduce the need for more land to be put under use that may make people to eye forest reserves-which are often species rich (Dadgarnejad et al., 2017). Moreover, studies have proved that boosting production capacity of farms through the adoption of GMO technology could help meet the ever-increasing demand for higher food supply while sparing land hence protecting biodiversity. That is, sustainable but high yield farming on farmlands is a way of meeting the surging demands for food supplies while permitting land to restore its natural state.

GMO contributes towards reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The emergence of invention of methods to increase productivity was initially occasioned by the need to serve the growing population across the globe. It is obvious that increased production is synonymous with increased emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. GMO technology has been adopted by policy makers to aid in boosting crop yield while keeping harmful gas emission as low as possible. The same principle of increased yield per farmland is also applied to reduce the number of machines used in the production process. It has been observed that the higher the number of equipment used in the production process, the higher the rate of emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere. The technology is used to boost production using minimal machines to reduce the amount of gases emitted into the environment (Herman et al., 2019). Additionally, since the technology minimizes the use of chemical herbicides in farming and adopting the use of biological pest and weed control methods, limited chlorofluorocarbons will be emitted into the atmosphere. Even under such circumstances, farmers are still guaranteed predictable yields since their crops develop genetic resistance to diseases and pests.

GMO products are easier to transport and preserve. Since GMO products have internal resistance to pests and diseases, they occasionally have prolonged shelf life. Under such conditions, the commodities require less cost of preservation and storage details. Moreover, products with prolonged shelf life are easy to transport over longer distances since they are simple to handle while on transit. This makes it possible to transport food items from areas under surplus supplies to regions in shortages (Chow et al., 2016). It can be a good solution to the problem of food shortages especially in the developing countries to eradicate hunger and poverty. Furthermore, the technique contributes to community safety since it eradicates the need for using additives and artificial preservatives that contain carcinogen responsible for causing heart problems and allergic reactions. The possibility of the preservation of GMO foods means that unlike the rest of the food products, these foods have a longer shelf-life. Meaning, they can stay for a long time (Zhang et al., 2016). This is advantageous because once the foods can be stored; it can be used to assist in the future. In this regard, it can be a good idea if the foods are preserved for as long as possible.

Despite the significant contributions of GMO foods, there is an argument that these food products are not appropriate for human consumption. The counter-argument that is used to justify this claim is that GMO foods are unhealthy for human beings. These foods are unhealthy because they can cause diseases and allergic reactions to the people. Such diseases include cancer. Some people can also develop certain allergies which can end up bringing health complications to the body. This, therefore, means that these foods are not safe for usage. The foods also contribute to ecological risks to the ecosystem. Although the technology might be easier to use, its usage can end up interfering with the environment hence, affecting he lives of plants, animals, and the entire biodiversity. That is why it can be a good idea if these food products are seriously inspected to determine if there are no risks involved. Otherwise, if the situation is not keenly monitored, the GMO foods might end up being disastrous.

In conclusion, modern methods of production are focused on sustainability and improvement of personal health and wellbeing of the society through cheaper ways. This report has indicated that the upsurge in population must be reciprocated by enhancement of the scales of production to ensure sufficient and constant supply of food. The merits of GMO foods make the technique quite appealing to the modern society where relevance and appropriateness are key factors for sustainability. It enables producers to come up with products that are long-lasting, produced using technology that is environmentally friendly, and geared towards maintenance of biodiversity. As such, it is a useful technique for policy-makers to create a constant supply of food reserves to feed the ever-growing population.

GMO technology has led to the production of nutritious and tastier foods. For food to serve its intended purpose, it should be as nutritious as possible. Meaning, it should contain all the required elements such as protein, carbohydrates, starch, vitamins, and minerals. Each of these elements should be available in the food because they enrich and make it much better. Therefore, when developing GMO foods, the manufacturers ensure that they add all the required nutrients. This is a good idea because it has been helping in the improvement of the value of these foods Rosa, et al., 2019). The end result is that these foods become tasty, delicious, and nutritious. In this regard, it implies that despite the fact that these food products are genetically-modified, they can still satisfy human nutritious needs. They can satisfy the users because they are tasty and can be enjoyed when eaten. Because of this, the foods can be consumed by everyone including the adults, children, and the elderly. Each of these consumers gets to obtain the kinds of nutrients that they need. It is, therefore, upon the manufacturers to ensure that GMO food has the right taste and nutritious content. Tasty foods are suitable for human consumption.

The use of GMO food products has been beneficial because it has helped in supplementing the conventional agricultural practices. Over the years, agricultural activities have been crumbling because of the many climatic, environmental, technological, and economic problems encountered by the farmers in the course of production process. However, with the introduction of GMO technology, such challenges will no longer arise. That is because the technology will contribute towards the solution of most of these challenges. First and foremost, GMO technology has helped in the creation of disease-resistant crop and animal species. The fact that these crops and animals can resist pests and diseases implies that they cannot be threatened by any diseases that might contribute to their deaths (Paull, 2019). Besides, the technology has helped in providing an alternative to the farmers because they can now engage in farming activities in an economical manner. GMO technology is economical because it does not require a lot of money in order to cultivate crops and keep livestock. Better still; the technology helps in the bringing up of the fast-maturing crop and livestock breeds. All these indicate that GMO technology has been helping the farmers to minimize the costs of operations. Unlike in conventional farming, GMO technology avails crop and animal breeds that are economical and convenient to raise.

It is an effective way of maintaining bio-diversity and eco-balance. Integration of the genetically modified crops and advanced breading technology has been adopted to increase farm productivity without the need to increase the size of land. The technology enables products to preserve their natural habitats by replenishing the used nutrients in the farms. Besides, the technique requires farmers to practice enhanced minimum tillage, reduction in the use of insecticides as well as adoption of environmentally benign chemicals in farms. The intention of the technique is to protect biodiversity by enhancing production in the usual farms in order to reduce the need for more land to be put under use that may make people to eye forest reserves-which are often species rich (Dadgarnejad et al., 2017). Moreover, studies have proved that boosting production capacity of farms through the adoption of GMO technology could help meet the ever-increasing demand for higher food supply while sparing land hence protecting biodiversity. That is, sustainable but high yield farming on farmlands is a way of meeting the surging demands for food supplies while permitting land to restore its natural state.

GMO contributes towards reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The emergence of invention of methods to increase productivity was initially occasioned by the need to serve the growing population across the globe. Read More