What is GMO(Genetically Modified Organism)?

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are those whose genome have been artificially altered in a lab so as to support
the expression of wanted physiological characteristics or the growth of wanted organic products. In conservative
production of livestock, agricultural farming and breeding of pets, the technique has been used for a long time in the
custom of selecting breeding individuals from a group so as to give out an offspring that has the desired characteristics.

The entire process of artificial alteration is termed as genetic engineering and is habitually aimed at producing
combinations of bacteria, virus, and animal genes that do not occur in nature or in manners that contradict the
conventional crossbreeding methods.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) result from recombinant DNA technology that allows for DNA to be transferred
from one organism to another (transgenesis) without the genetic transfer limits of species to species barriers and with
successful expression of transferred genes in the receiving organism (Gray, 2001).

Crop protection is the main rationale behind this type of genetic modification. Plants that are more resistant to diseases
spread by insects or viruses result in higher yields for farmers and a more attractive product.

Four crops, maize, canola, soybean, and cotton, constitute the vast majority of GM crop production (James, 2015a), and
GM crops have been grown commercially since 1995 (Bagavathiannan, Julier, Barre, Gulden, & Van Acker, 2010). The
acceptance of GM crops by farmers has been rapid, with the global GM production area growing from 1.7 million
hectares in 1996 (International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications [ISAAA], 2015) to 182 million
hectares in 2014 (James, 2014). Just 10 countries represent almost 98% of the GM hectares worldwide. The top GM
producing countries are the United States (73.1 million ha), Brazil (42.2 million ha), Argentina (24.3 million ha), Canada
(11.6 million ha), and India (11.6 million ha) (James, 2014).

Improvement of GM crops that will have a direct influence on health such as decreased allergens (Chu et al., 2008),
superior levels of protein and carbohydrates (Newell-McGloughlin, 2008), greater levels of essential amino acids,
essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals including, multivitamin corn (Naqvi et al., 2009; Zhu et al., 2008), and
maximum zeaxanthin corn (Naqvi et al., 2011) hold much promise but have yet to be commercialized. Malnutrition is
very common in developing countries where poor people rely heavily on a single food sources such as rice for their diet
(Gómez-Galera et al., 2010). Nevertheless, rice does not contain sufficient quantities of all essential nutrients to prevent
malnutrition and GM crops may offer means for supplying more nutritional benefits through single food sources such as
rice (White & Broadley, 2009). This not only supports people to get the nutrition they require, but also plays a potential
role in fighting malnutrition in developing nations.

Vitamin A deficiency renders susceptibility to blindness and affects between 250,000 and 500,000 children annually and
is very common in parts of Africa and Asia (Golden Rice Project, 2009). A crop like Golden rice could help to overcome
the problem of vitamin A deficiency by at least 50% at moderate expense.

The Green Revolution was driven by global hunger, and some argue that the next agricultural production revolution,
which is perhaps being sparked by the introduction of GM crops, would be driven by other global needs including
sustainability and the needs of individuals (Lipton & Longhurst, 2011). The green revolution of the 1960s and 1970s
depended on the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation methods to initiate favorable conditions in which high
yielding modern varieties could thrive. Between 1970 and 1990, fertilizer use in developing countries rose by 360% while
pesticide use increased by 7 to 8% annually. The environmental impacts of the adoption of these technologies did in
some cases override their benefits. These impacts included polluted land, water, and air, and the development of
resistant strains of pests. GM crops could be used to sustain or grow production levels while diminishing environmental
impacts.
The novelty of GM technology has been both an asset and a challenge for those companies producing GM seeds.
Supporters of GM crops have asserted that GM is merely an evolution of conventional breeding approaches (Herdt,
2006). They have insisted that humans have been genetically modifying crops for millennia and that GM technology has
been an extension and facilitation of natural breeding.

Allergies

Food allergies are a growing problem in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC)Trusted Source, food allergies in children under 18 years of age have increased; from 3.4 percent between 1997
and 1999 to 5.1 percent between 2009 and 2011.

Some people believe that spike is linked to GM foods. But there’s no evidence that GM foods in general are more likely
to trigger allergic reactions than non-GM foods, according to a study from Harvard University.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) have since
established protocols for GM foods. They require GM foods to be tested for their ability to cause allergic reactions.
According to the Mayo Clinic, none of the GM foods that are currently on the market have been found to have allergenic
effects.

Antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can resist antibiotics, making them hard to kill. According to the CDCTrusted Source,
antibiotic-resistant germs infect two million people each year. Those infections kill at least 23,000 people per year.

Scientists often modify seeds using antibiotic-resistant genes in the genetic engineering process. Some people wonder if
there’s a link between these GM foods and rising rates of antibiotic resistant bacteria. No studies have confirmed this
claim, but more research is needed.

Cancer

In 2013, the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology retracted a paper that linked the herbicide Roundup and Roundup-
tolerant GM corn to cancer and premature death in rats. Due to concerns about the paper, the journal’s editor reviewed
the researchers’ raw data and the peer-review process. They found the researchers had used too few rats, the specific
strain of rats was prone to cancer, and the results were inconclusive.

Since then, the paper has been republished in another journal, Environmental Sciences Europe. The controversy
surrounding the study’s findings has continued.

According to the American Cancer Society, more research is needed to assess the potential long-term health effects of
GM foods.
GMOs are easier to cultivate

Genetically modified foods can also be manipulated to grow in specified and problematic surroundings. This could be
done through creating crops that are more resistant to pests. They may also be made to have improved tolerance to
numerous chemicals such as herbicides. As a result, farmers are able to get improved yields.

They boost the yields that an individual can generate on existing lands

GMO produce can be manipulated to give higher produce from the same cultivated lands. In some occurrences, the
produce can possibly increase after transitioning to GMO from traditional crops thus making it possible to meet the food
demands that the next generations are going to need. Research shows that by 2050, the world population would have
increased to 10 billion. Meaning people will require more food for consumption from the existing lands. In a bid to hold
up the anticipated increase, GMOs offers the possibility with no need of altering the pricing of food. GMO proponents
claim it is a solution to the world’s future food security.

GMOs can be transported to the inaccessible regions of the world

Currently, the food production in the world is 17% more than it is required for the population. The problem is how food
can be dispensed to countryside where individuals have little quantities of food. The time it takes for it to reach such
areas is sufficient for it to get ruined before consumption.

Therefore, GMOs lengthen the natural life of the foodstuff and its resilience, permitting them to be transported to
longer distances without wastage or going bad to communities that really need them.

Chemicals usage on GMO crops is lesser compared to other crops.

Based on a study conducted by PG Economics to measure the quantity of pesticide on cotton that had been genetically
modified from 1996-2011, it was discovered that there had been a 6% decline in the amount of herbicides used
compared to those that had not been modified.

Environmental Benefits

For currently commercialized GM crops the environmental benefits as previously pointed out are primarily linked to
reductions in pesticide use and to reductions in tillage (Christou & Twyman, 2004; Wesseler, Scatasta, & El Hadji, 2011).
Reductions in pesticide use can lead to a greater conservation of beneficial insects and help to protect other non-target
species (Aktar, Sengupta, & Chowdhury, 2009). Reduced tillage helps to mitigate soil erosion and environmental
pollution (Wesseler et al., 2011; Brookes & Barfoot, 2008) and can lead to indirect environmental benefits including
reductions in water pollution via pesticide and fertilizer runoff (Christos & Ilias, 2011). It has been claimed that growing
Bt maize could help to significantly reduce the use of chemical pesticides and lower the cost of production to some
extent (Gewin, 2003). The deregulation process for GM crops includes the assessment of potential environmental risks
including unintentional effects that could result from the insertion of the new gene (Prakash, Sonika, Ranjana, & Tiwary,
2011). Development of GM technology to introduce genes conferring tolerance to abiotic stresses such as drought or
inundation, extremes of heat or cold, salinity, aluminum, and heavy metals are likely to enable marginal land to become
more productive and may facilitate the remediation of polluted soils (Czako, Feng, He, Liang, & Marton, 2005; Uchida et
al., 2005). The multiplication of GM crop varieties carrying such traits may increase farmers’ capacities to cope with
these and other environmental problems (Dunwell & Ford, 2005; Sexton & Zilberman, 2011). Therefore, GM technology
may hold out further hope of increasing the productivity of agricultural land with even less environmental impact (Food
and Agriculture Organization [FAO], 2004).

Some proponents of GM crops have argued that because they increase productivity they facilitate more sustainable
farming practices and can lead to “greener” agriculture. Mannion and Morse (2013), for example, argue that GM crops
require less energy investment in farming because the reduced application of insecticide lowers energy input levels,
thereby reducing the carbon footprint. It has been suggested by other authors that the adoption of GM crops may have
the potential to reduce inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides (Bennett, Ismael, Morse, & Shankar, 2004;
Bennett, Phipps, Strange, & Grey, 2004). Others note that higher crop yields facilitated by GM crops could offset
greenhouse gas emissions at scales similar to those attributed to wind and solar energy (Wise et al., 2009). Greenhouse
gas emissions from intensive agriculture are also offset by the conservation of non-farmed lands. While untilled forest
soils and savannas, for example, act as carbon stores, farmed land is often a carbon source (Burney, Davis, & Lobell,
2010).