The Pros And Cons Of Genetically Modified Organisms

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If the movement of people, food, and manufactured good can have such a negative impact on public health, should steps be taken to reduce these flows? What other options are there for lowering the spread of global diseases

The movement of people, food, and goods has been occurring for an extremely long time. Even back then, it could have a large impact on a person’s health. For instance, smallpox was brought to the Americas by Europeans, wiping out large segments of the indigenous populations ("Health and Globalization", 2011). Today however, this movement is occurring at a much higher rate.

Technological advancements and economic integration today are making it such that more people and goods are traveling to a wider variety of …show more content…

Do you feel that the benefits outweigh the costs of producing food in this manner? Why or why not? Explain

Food security is of the utmost importance to all countries. Food plays a large role in ensuring that people remain healthy and productive. In addition, eating food has long been a great way for human beings to spend time with one another, making it culturally significant as well. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are being increasingly adopted as a way to ensure food security for everyone ("Health and Globalization", 2011). However, many people claim that the potential consequences to human health and the environment are too large ("Health and Globalization", 2011).

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, by 2050 “agricultural production will have to increase by 70 percent to meet projected demand” ("The Future of Agriculture", 2016). The fact that most farming land has already been farmed means that the increased production is going to have come from higher yields ("The Future of Agriculture", 2016). This can be achieved by using more genetically modified organisms. More importantly, evidence that GMOs cause harm to either human health or the environment over the last few decades is basically non-existent ("The Future of Agriculture",