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Hyeongshin Hyen
Jeju Korea
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Most people cannot imagine a tomato plant growing in the desert because they cannot grow in that environment. However, if people who live in the desert use GMOs, Genetically Modified Organisms, they can grow the tomato. Also, scientists can make the new foods based on existing foods such as pomato, which combines with potatoes and tomatoes. If people plant the pomatoes, they can make the potato’s and tomato’s nutritional content.
Religious groups and people who think about their health do not agree about this situation. First, the religious group says everything, which has life have to be made by God, so people cannot change. Next, people who worried about their health think that genome is very complex. For example, the number of human DNA is 3,000,000,000, and each DNA has connection. That is why they say if the people change some gene, it will make some problem on the other part.
However, why do people make and use GMOs? The most important thing is that food resources are limited. The wide of areas which can plants some food are loss worldwide, so people need the more strong plants like wheat that can be planted on the desert. Scientists try to touch the plants genomes. GM crops give a lot of positive effects to African food problem but government needs to impose legal sanction.
A lot of countries in Africa lacks food, and scientists say the world’s population will be 9 billion in 2050, 6 billion in 2000. Especially Africa, which has highest rate of population growth, because the number of average children in a family is 6 in Africa. This rate is almost 2 times than Asia. On the other hand, farms have been replaced by an urban community. It means people have to live with food which is limited after some years. Even if a lot of people died of hunger now.
According to FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, one hundred thousands people died every 1 day in 2005 because of hunger, and 35 percent of Africans are on the brink of starvation.
However, if people who live in Africa have GM crops, the food problem that causes environment in Africa will be solved, because the yield of crops will increase. First, the size of the farms will broaden because people can make the farms in the desert. 52 percent of the world desert is in Africa. Also, 18 percentage African farmland could be lost up by drought (Xiao Zhang, Ximing Cai, 2011). For example, the Saharan desert, which the biggest desert in the world (8,600,000 km2; 31 times of Colorado), does not have the foods and farms. If the African use the GM crops that can be grown in the desert, they will be arable. It will close the drought, and amount of farmland will broaden. As a result, the yield of crops will be increase.
Next, GM crops have immunity from disease. IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, 2014) said, just 3.05 percent of global organic farmland in Africa because plants cannot live without agricultural chemical and pesticides. Also, Africa has a lot of diseases that people do not know about. For example, RYMV (Rice Yellow Mottle Virus) damages in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa that is bordered by Guinea to the northeast, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest, on 1990 (Rybicki. E, Pieterson. G., 2012). As the result, 82 percent of yield is reduced by RYMV. If the rice has a virus resistant DNA, they will not damage gram RYMV. It will keep the yield.
Third, GM crops do not need a lot of people. African farmers usually do not have machine that can use in farm like the USA, so they need a lot of people. For Example is the weed. Famers have to take out the weeds because the weed disrupts that the crops grow. This situation needs many workers. GM crops can get the resistant to weeds that have the bad effect to yield of crops. It means farmers do not need to use the worker; farmers do not need a lot of labor cost. Prices of crops will be decrease. Finally, it will be easier for Africans to get food.
I believe that GMOs are necessary in Africa, but need some regulations. For example, labeling is one of the most important regulations because we do not know about risk of GMOs. People have right of know, that everyone has. It mean we have to give some choice for African who is in starvation. However, if African cannot recognize if the crops are GM crops or not, we destroy the right of know. Also, we need really detail regulations. For example, we make a law about GMOs labeling, but we do not make a detail law. It will make same problems like no regulation about labeling. For example, if company makes a small label, customs cannot recognize the label. It is also destruct the right of know. We know GM crops need in Africa, but we have to make some detail regulations.
In conclusion, GM crops offer a solution for food problems in Africa. A lot of people complain about risk of GMOs. However, they do not know how many people need food. According to Yusaku Uga, leader of a team in National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (2013), “Development of GM rice plants is… one of (the) useful strategies to improve drought resistance.” I hope they thought about food problem in Africa.
References
1) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (2011, March 28). Large regional changes in
Religious groups and people who think about their health do not agree about this situation. First, the religious group says everything, which has life have to be made by God, so people cannot change. Next, people who worried about their health think that genome is very complex. For example, the number of human DNA is 3,000,000,000, and each DNA has connection. That is why they say if the people change some gene, it will make some problem on the other part.
However, why do people make and use GMOs? The most important thing is that food resources are limited. The wide of areas which can plants some food are loss worldwide, so people need the more strong plants like wheat that can be planted on the desert. Scientists try to touch the plants genomes. GM crops give a lot of positive effects to African food problem but government needs to impose legal sanction.
A lot of countries in Africa lacks food, and scientists say the world’s population will be 9 billion in 2050, 6 billion in 2000. Especially Africa, which has highest rate of population growth, because the number of average children in a family is 6 in Africa. This rate is almost 2 times than Asia. On the other hand, farms have been replaced by an urban community. It means people have to live with food which is limited after some years. Even if a lot of people died of hunger now.
According to FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, one hundred thousands people died every 1 day in 2005 because of hunger, and 35 percent of Africans are on the brink of starvation.
However, if people who live in Africa have GM crops, the food problem that causes environment in Africa will be solved, because the yield of crops will increase. First, the size of the farms will broaden because people can make the farms in the desert. 52 percent of the world desert is in Africa. Also, 18 percentage African farmland could be lost up by drought (Xiao Zhang, Ximing Cai, 2011). For example, the Saharan desert, which the biggest desert in the world (8,600,000 km2; 31 times of Colorado), does not have the foods and farms. If the African use the GM crops that can be grown in the desert, they will be arable. It will close the drought, and amount of farmland will broaden. As a result, the yield of crops will be increase.
Next, GM crops have immunity from disease. IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, 2014) said, just 3.05 percent of global organic farmland in Africa because plants cannot live without agricultural chemical and pesticides. Also, Africa has a lot of diseases that people do not know about. For example, RYMV (Rice Yellow Mottle Virus) damages in Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa that is bordered by Guinea to the northeast, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest, on 1990 (Rybicki. E, Pieterson. G., 2012). As the result, 82 percent of yield is reduced by RYMV. If the rice has a virus resistant DNA, they will not damage gram RYMV. It will keep the yield.
Third, GM crops do not need a lot of people. African farmers usually do not have machine that can use in farm like the USA, so they need a lot of people. For Example is the weed. Famers have to take out the weeds because the weed disrupts that the crops grow. This situation needs many workers. GM crops can get the resistant to weeds that have the bad effect to yield of crops. It means farmers do not need to use the worker; farmers do not need a lot of labor cost. Prices of crops will be decrease. Finally, it will be easier for Africans to get food.
I believe that GMOs are necessary in Africa, but need some regulations. For example, labeling is one of the most important regulations because we do not know about risk of GMOs. People have right of know, that everyone has. It mean we have to give some choice for African who is in starvation. However, if African cannot recognize if the crops are GM crops or not, we destroy the right of know. Also, we need really detail regulations. For example, we make a law about GMOs labeling, but we do not make a detail law. It will make same problems like no regulation about labeling. For example, if company makes a small label, customs cannot recognize the label. It is also destruct the right of know. We know GM crops need in Africa, but we have to make some detail regulations.
In conclusion, GM crops offer a solution for food problems in Africa. A lot of people complain about risk of GMOs. However, they do not know how many people need food. According to Yusaku Uga, leader of a team in National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (2013), “Development of GM rice plants is… one of (the) useful strategies to improve drought resistance.” I hope they thought about food problem in Africa.
References
1) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (2011, March 28). Large regional changes in
Farmland area predicted. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110325151645.htm
2) IFAOM. (2014). Status of organic agriculture and world market. P37. Retrieved from http://www.fibl.org/fileadmin/documents/shop/1636-organic-world-2014.pdf
3) Fox News. (2011). Roots Breakthrough For Drought-resistant Rice. Retrieved from
2) IFAOM. (2014). Status of organic agriculture and world market. P37. Retrieved from http://www.fibl.org/fileadmin/documents/shop/1636-organic-world-2014.pdf
3) Fox News. (2011). Roots Breakthrough For Drought-resistant Rice. Retrieved from
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/08/04/roots-breakthrough-for-drought-resistant-rice
4) Rybicki. E, Pieterson. G. (2012). Plant Virus disease problems in the developing Word. P6.
Retrieved from https://rybicki.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/plvidis-final-11-6-99.pdf
4) Rybicki. E, Pieterson. G. (2012). Plant Virus disease problems in the developing Word. P6.
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