Genetically Modified Organisms: A Sustainable Path to a Food-Secure Future

I know this may not be a relevant topic to what is happening in Nigeria right now. But we cannot deny the fact that hunger is ravaging the foundation of our societies. This is worrying considering that the world population is projected to reach over 9 billion people in the coming decades. That means we need to produce more food than at any time in history. As a science student, I firmly believe that science deserves as much attention as we give to politics and other trivial issues. Because we can find so many solutions to our problems, including hunger, through science.

Booming rice farm 📸: Pexels

But let's get back to basics and understand what genetics and genetically modified organisms are all about. First, genetics is a branch of biology that deals with "heredity" and other forms of "variation in living organisms," be it plants, animals, and microbes. Second, genetically modified organisms are organisms in which their genetic material is manipulated to produce vigorous replicas with desired traits. In this paper, we will focus more on plants. 

Breeding has existed since ancient times. However, there were some shortcomings in the archaic breeding processes: it is time-consuming, and the breeder has no control over undesirable traits from the breed. The first biotechnological genetic engineering was performed by Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen in 1973. These two scientists performed the first DNA transfer between two bacteria and created the first genetically modified organisms. Shortly after this incredible breakthrough, the world continues to witness unprecedented records in molecular genetics. Biotechnology is providing scientists with the skills needed to efficiently and effectively alter the genetic material of organisms without complications.

Though, there are controversies regarding the safety of modified crops. However, the group that claimed GMOs are not safe for human consumption has failed to provide convincing evidence that renders the use of GM derivatives dangerous. This group argued that the chemical "glyphosate", which is induced in modified crops to effectively control weeds without harming farmers' crops, is "carcinogenic" and therefore causes cancer. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) concluded in 2016 that “glyphosate does not necessarily pose a health risk.” This means that any discussions about the non-safety of its profile are futile.

On the other hand, the other group claims that GMOs are safe, have twice the yield of our conventional crops, are highly nutritious, and are effective in enhancing health benefits. Therefore, they can be consumed just as normally as our dominant non-GMO foods. Moreover, recent studies found that the use of genetically modified crops "has reduced pesticide use by 37% and increased crop yields by 22%." Also, GM crops can give us year-round yields that are free from climate dictates.

In addition, about "90% of the corn and soybeans produced in the United States are derived from GMOs." This means these products went through rigorous testing before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved their marketing. It is interesting to note that GMOs reduce production and purchasing costs and have a longer shelf life. Most importantly, they are an important source of medicines. Currently, research is ongoing to produce "edible vaccines" from plants. In this way, so many people in countries like Nigeria can have access to effective and affordable vaccines; We can save more lives and money which we can invest in other important projects.

Another reason to contend with is this “GM crops can help reduce poverty and hunger among small farmers in developing countries. They can also reduce the environmental impact of farming in general,” said a plant biologist, Dr. Sarah Evanega. Also, the golden rice project is another example of one of the most important breakthroughs in genetic engineering — the modification in this rice increases its vitamin A content. So if you weigh the significance of GMOs, you can conclude that genetically modified crops are the future.

While I admit there is a lot of research going on into the safety of GM by-products, it looks like we can end hunger in our growing populations if nations invest heavily in GM projects. Also,  I think the world has enough reliable information and breakthroughs that can pave the way to a sustainable, food-secure future.

Finally, from the brief discussion in this paper, you can see the importance of investing heavily in GM projects. The world has called for action, so we must act boldly and quickly. That being said, I know some people might suggest venturing into an organic food source. Well, the bad news is that organic food is too expensive to produce and increases greenhouse gas emissions. In a world struggling to prevent the worst of climate catastrophes, producing organic food can do us more harm than good.

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