Biology Forums - Study Force

Proponents of genetically modified foods often claim that GMOs are the only way to feed a hungry world. Can you see how that might be true? Give arguments. Can you see why it might be false?

Not all places on the planet that has a human population has the proper environment to grow food.  A few places in the world are lucky to have a good farming environment.  Those areas where the farming environment is poor are areas that are prone to famine.  The trick is to find a crop that will grow in those areas.  It might be too dry or the season too short or it is too wet or the pests are too numerous or the ground has harsh chemistry or a myriad of other reasons.  Also, the unmodified crops that can grow there might not have all of the nutrition needed to sustain life.

So, crops can be modified so that they grow better in the harsh conditions and/or have the nutrients that a person needs.  This would help keep people from starving.

Some will argue that we could just grow the food in the plentiful areas and then ship the food to the areas where it is needed.  This is done to a degree but it is impractical as a way to completely feed people in these areas.  The cost of growing the food, combined with the cost of shipping the food is much more than what the people of these countries can afford to pay.  It is an economic drain to try to feed them this way.  It might work on the short term but it is not going to keep a region completely fed for a long time.  Also, there are environmental concerns with all of the extra fuel that has to be spent to ship the food around the world.  Also, this practice can lead to over-farming of certain areas.