Social Impacts                                                               

 Health and Nutrition 

  Humans benefit greatly by consuming genetically modified foods. These foods have the ability of becoming healthier (oils with lowered saturated fat), more nutritious (high fiber corn, high starch potatoes), and even safer (less pesticides, and insecticides). They also benefit malnourished countries by adding vitamins and minerals to stable crops. For example, about 80% of the world's diet is rice, which has almost no Vitamin A content. As a result, 2 million children die each year of Vitamin A deficiency, and many more go blind. "Golden rice" is a project intended to genetically alter rice so that it produces enough Vitamin A to avoid these deaths and disabilities.

Scientists hope that golden rice produces Vitamin A that is essential to the body and could save children from Vitamin A deficiency.

 

 World Hunger

  Genetically modified foods can help feed the world’s growing population and third-world countries. Not only will genetic modification allow a larger yield from a given crop by losing less to pests and disease, but plants can be engineered to grow in harsher climates and grow with more efficiency (fewer defects). Land needed for growing crops is decreasing but, demands for food are increasing. GM crops could be developed to grow in colder climates, with less water, in saltier soils, or with more cycles in a given year. If food can be grown in any kind of environment, the production of crops can improve world hunger.

 Bio-Factories  

  Scientists are also hoping to produce "edible vaccines". These vaccines would be produced inside a genetically modified plant as it grows and could be distributed without any drawbacks. For example, an edible vaccine against Hepatitis B, Norwalk virus, from a genetically modified sweet potato, has been developed. Vaccines produced in this way can be shipped, stored, and administered at a low cost to patients in poorer countries. Edible vaccines have special importance on the developing world.

                                                         Political Impacts                                                                                        

 Labeling

  Currently there is no policy for labeling GM foods. DNA tests to determine the GM content of various foods are also expensive. None of the federal state of local governments are currently doing these tests. Manufacturers are therefore unlikely to get caught if they do not appropriately label foods containing GM ingredients.

 Third-World Countries

  Developing countries begin poor and many times they are not able to feed everyone in their population. There is a concern that they are not able to afford growing genetically modified foods.

                                                       Economic Impacts                                                          

 Trade

  Quinoa is an amino-acid rich (protein) grain that can only be grown in the Andes. The Bolivian farmers of this grain depend on its million dollar export market for their survival. However, Colorado State University begun research on genetically modifying quinoa to increase its output in 1996. If the research is to continue, then perhaps quinoa would be able to be grown in the United States. The loss and unemployment that has increased for Bolivia, had the patent not been withdrawn is representative of the type of impact on global trade that GM enhancements could bring about should the US or Europe be able to grow any exotic crops.

 

 

 Environment

   GM crops contain self-replicating genetically modified genes. Once they are released to the public/environment, especially on commercial scale, they cannot be recalled.

 
Make a Free Website with Yola.