The world population has topped 6 billion people and is predicted to double in the next 50 years according to the United Nations Population Funds (Emerson 7). Ensuring an adequate food supply for this booming population is going to be a major challenge in the years to come. The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service shows the United States produces more then one-third of the world's food supply (Peter 11), but it may not be enough to feed twice as many people. How can we keep up with the growing population? I"ll tell you how, with the use of genetically modified foods or otherwise known as GMO's. Genetically modified organisms are plants or foods that are altered to adapt to certain conditions they are exposed to. Some people think that the use of these chemicals and genetically altered seeds are dangerous and harmful. I"m here to inform to you that they are not in fact harmful at all, but very beneficial. I am going to tell you exactly what GMO's are. What genetic engineering is, what some of the advantages of GM foods are, and what kinds of plants or involved. .
The term GM foods or GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. The enhancement of desired traits has traditionally been undertaken through breeding, but conventional plant breeding methods can be very time consuming and are often not very accurate.
Genetic engineering can create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and with great accuracy. . "Over the past 75 years, agricultural scientists have contributed knowledge to the international effort to increase the world's food supply," comments Charles J. Arntzen, professor at Arizona St.
