HELLO GMOS 

         Not only do GMOs have the potential to positively affect the environment, but they also hold the power of social reform. Genetically modified organisms have characteristics to them that generic crops are unable to have; for example, GM crops can be modified to grow in environmental climates where they typically do not grow, enabling certain areas of the world to have access to food in non-ideal weather. You may be thinking; how is the fact that genetically modified organisms enable humans to grow crops in non-ideal climatic conditions a social benefit? Let’s explore this!

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           Famine is a detrimental problem to many communities, specifically developing countries where smallholder farms are a main source of food. During natural disasters, many countries suffer and are in desperate need of “climate-smart improvements for their long-term food security, while minimizing soil erosion, water loss, and other harmful results” (Koenig, 2020). To survive droughts, many farmers use methods such as conservation tillage and conservation practices that encourage water infiltration into the soil; however, what if there genetically modified crops that were enabled to grow in dry conditions?

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           Genetically modified crops can grow in non-ideal environments, enabling communities that experience drought and other climatic extremes to confront food insecurity and have successful agricultural systems in dry areas. To exemplify the impact that genetically modified foods can have on a community, let us explore communities in the Horn of Africa. In this area, “Drought is the most catastrophic natural event that causes widespread periodic famine in the region” (FAO, 2000). By granting traits for heat or drought tolerance to traditional crops, genetic modification could “increase resilience to rising temperatures and changing precipitation rates” (Schanker, 2016). The famishment that disrupts the life of thousands in the Horn of Africa could be combatted by the implementation of genetically modified organisms, but it doesn’t have to end there.

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            Along with aiding areas that struggle with food shortages, GMOs have the power to spark political reform, for the rising CO2 emission and climate change are consistent political problems that have been rolled over for decades. Research and development programs, such as the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy, are not making significant progress as they attempt to bring clean energy technologies and agricultural methods into commercial use. Continuing, under a carbon tax, the government “sets a price that emitters must pay for each ton of greenhouse gas emissions they emit;” however, this simply means that as long as companies have enough money to give, they can pollute the environment with large amounts of carbon dioxide (C2ES, 2019). The point of the matter is that as corporate businesses and companies switch fuels or adopt new technologies to reduce their CO2 emissions, it is timely and unlikely due to the growth of the industry as well as the human population. Genetically modified foods can be implemented to reduce agricultural CO2 emissions at an effective rate while having the ability to mass-produce food products. This could result in new political movements that push the government in a direction toward investing in GMOs and familiarizing the public with them.