Genetically Modified (GM) Crops; only measure to compensate World Hunger by BIGYAN RIMAL

According to World Bank report still 1 billion of world population is in starvation. Hunger and Malnutrition is growing as a prominent cause for the higher mortality rate in third world countries. More than half of these people live in South-Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. To supplement the Food scarcities in these parts of the world the crops having high yield, resistant to adverse environmental conditions, resistant to pests and several plant diseases and many more advantageous characteristics are to be introduced. This can only be obtained through genetic engineering and those crops which are genetically engineered are called GM crops.

Molecular Biologists and Agricultural Biotechnologists argue that GM crops can help in introduction of various advantageous properties in plants like drought resistant, chilling tolerant, high yielding, and early fruiting so that the supply of foods at the required time can be met and hunger can be subsided.  There are another bunch of Green people who argue on the fact that incorporation of the gene from one organism to another is against the “Rule of Nature”. From the long run of time people are modifying the nature for their benefits and growth. Thus, the introduction of GM crops is more a service to mankind for the competitive survival rather than experimentation against the rule of nature.

Several ethical issues are being raised concerning about the negative impacts of the GM crops like Allergies and diseases, Damage to environment, Cross pollinations adversities, Risks of misbalance of Food Web, and so on. But GM crops are not so irresponsibly introduced into the field and distributed in the markets. These GM crops are only introduced to the market after several phases of experimentation for all possible risk to human health and ecological system of environment. In the context of daily decrease in the cultivable lands because of several environment degrading factors like pesticides and herbicides in the near future the total agricultural production of the world will only be sufficient for the half of the population. To supplement this scarcity only measure is the higher production of the crops in the land available which can only be met through the use of GM crops in the mainstream Agriculture around throughout the world. For the distribution in the markets, GM crops must be approved by Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and unless all the standards set by FDA are fulfilled. “Safety Evaluation is done in two steps:

 

i.        The safety of novel GM character

The safety of a particular protein regarding toxicity is assessed using animal feeding tests. For food additives or herbicide residues, these kinds of tests are routine. When results from animal trials are applied to humans, considerable extra safety measures must be taken.

 

ii.      Unforeseen Change in Plant metabolism as a result of gene transfer

Nutritional value and vitamin content are measured along with levels of toxins that occur naturally in some foods. An increase in toxin content to unsafe levels is not permissible.” (prgh# 6, 11, Evaluating Safety: A major undertaking, Oct 19, 2011, GMO Compass, < http://www.gmo-compass.org/eng/safety/human_health/41.evaluation_safety_gm_foo_major_undertaking.html>

These criterion make all the GM crops riskless to human health.

 

Skepticism regarding the applicability of the GM crops are still prevailing in the most parts of the world. The potential to supplement the larger portion of hunger and malnutrition in the poorest part of the world and protection and preservation of environment with reduction in reliability to the chemical herbicides and pesticides and increase in the yield, GM crops are the last possible option to meet the increasing demand of food in the time of decreasing agricultural productivity. GM crops are the hope for the people in the near future and we cannot afford to avoid the fact of its importance accompanying such benefits to mankind. Thus, GM crops are inevitable to meet the growing food demands around the world in today’s context as well.