Genetically

Modified Foods and

Third World
Countries
What will you do?
Calamities, disasters, and wars have ripped
the threads of many lives apart, but the battle of
hunger, disease, and other hardship can be fought by
developing, and distributing genetically modified
foods to poorer nations. The developing and
distributing of these foods would help the economies
and overall health of these third world countries. By
understanding the possibilities of these foods, from
decreased cost, to increase essential nutrients
fighting off disease and improving health, one can

Sources:
"World Hunger Notes --World Hunger Photo."
World Hunger Notes --World Hunger Photos: The
Stories of People's Lives. N.p., 07 May 2010. Web.
12 Apr. 2016.
History of Genetically Modified Foods. Global
Change. University of Michigan. Web. 15
February 2016.
Qaim, Matin and Zilberman, David. Yield Effects
of Genetically Modified Crops in
Developing Countries. Science. 299.10
2003: 900-901. Web. 15 February 2016.

easily see the need we have to bring these foods to

In a world of problems, why

could developing, and
implementing genetically
modified foods into developing
countries help bring refuge?

countries that need it most. As Mahatma Gandhi said

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in
the service of others, let each of us take some of the
burden placed upon the poor, and the infirmed, and
help bring relief to hunger, and to despair by
bringing this needed technology to these countries.
Do this by donating to research, speaking up locally,
or simply staying up-to-date with GM development.

Tanner Anderson
Carolyn Holloway
English 2010
April 6, 2016

Fight or Flight?

Whats the problem?

The United Nations World Food Programme

has stated that The vast majority of the world's
hungry people live in developing countries,
where 12.9 percent of the population is
undernourished. Now 12.9 percent seems low,
but to give a picture of what that means, in
2014, Kenyas population was reported as
nearly 50 million people. By the math, with this
average, this means that roughly 6,450,000
people are undernourished in Kenya alone. The
World Food Programme also states that poor
nutrition kills 3.1 children each year. This
brings stories like these to our headlines:

What potential do these foods have?

What are Genetically Modified Foods?

1996, farmers globally have gained more than 44 Billion (almost

Genetically Modification, or GMOs

have been defined as The Manipulation of an
organisms genetic make-up in order to create or
enhance desirable characteristics from the same
or another species (Australian Department of the
Environment and Heritage, 2001).
With the prospect of this technology in

Feeding so many is not easy. "I struggle

even to buy a single kilo of `atta [wheat flour],
which costs Rs 30 [36 US cents], and even that
produces just about half a `roti [flat bread] for
each of us, Said Ilyas Masih, father of 7.
For Ilyass family, securing each meal - eaten
on the floor around a kerosene oil stove on
which his wife, Nasim, cooks - is an ordeal.
Especially at night, it is painful to hear the
children beg for more food. Sometimes they
snatch food from each other -Reported on
the World Hunger Education Service website.

In 2011 a study was done for Biotech crops that since

50 billion USD) in farm income thanks to GM crops, and 57% of

this profit was due to increased yields (Brookes, Sustainable).
These foods are genetically modified to yield more crops of
heartier plants that are more adaptable to soils and climates and
require less water to grow. In a report by Matin Qaim and David
Zilberman in 2003 that was published in the research journal

our crops, its been said that In short, the

Science research shows that on noncommercial fields, pest

prospect of higher yields, more adaptability, less

related losses are often higher than 50% than in commercial fields,

reliance on chemicals, and greater nutritional

thus showing that because this technology can create foods that are

value as offered through genetically modified

crops addresses the various problems of food
security in the context of an ever-growing global
population (History, Global).

completely resistant to environment specific pests, there is a much

greater yield for farmers in these developing countries using GM
foods than anywhere else (Qaim, Yield.)The results are
irrefutable that GM foods in 3rd world nations create a far great
crop yield for these unprivileged farmers, and thus for their
economies. The growth of these economies are directly dependent
upon the crops that the people depend on.