Hello blog readers! It seems as if you are here to learn about how food insecurity effects everyone. THAT MEANS YOU! Food insecure is a term that refers to a household that does not have the financial means to provide nutrient dense food to their diet. However, this does not mean those in financially secure households are not at risk and are not effected. Beyond the obvious ways that food insecurity can be detrimental to those who do not have access to foods, tax payers are the ones who provide the government expenditure to help those in need. There are systems in place to close the hunger gap.
The obvious reason as to why GM foods would be beneficial is that it would provide more people with foods, while taking them out of hunger. Their overall energy would be higher so they would be more capable of giving back to society and maintain a job. It would increase the bounty of food for everyone and drive down prices. Food quality would increase because the modification would allow for preservatives to increase shelf life. This would, in turn, increase food safety and stop people from getting sick from rotten foods.
On the side of opposition, genetically modified foods introduce new traits in crops. Not all of which have been studied. Many of these foods have not been tested on whether increased exposure leads to long term health effects. Also when the genetic makeup of a crop is altered, some of the nutrient value can be lost. Many reasons that lead to food insecurity are due to a lack of nutrients, but some people are food insecure due to a deficiency in calorie intake. Crops such as vegetables which are high in nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, do not have as many calories as a processed food such as breads. These crops are more expensive and not as effect in providing energy. Genetically modifying foods would make it so that the fresh foods AND processed foods (which are high in calories) do not provide the vital nutrients to maintain a healthy body. GM foods add more fresh crops for everyone at a low price, but are low in nutrients. This means that people who are already properly nourished might go for a "cheaper option" and buy the GM foods. This would create more widespread food insecurity rather than eradicating the problem. Simply providing more foods will not take people out of food insecurity because by definition it means that a household has access to nutrient-dense foods.
There are numerically more reasons to not allow farmers to genetically modify foods, however the price and sheer raise in calorie count of those in need may be enough of a reason to endorse GM foods. Feel free to leave what you think about whether introducing genetically modified foods to combat food insecurity is a viable option.
References:
Food insecurity to food security.JPEG <http://thehungergap.org/about/>
Qaim, M., & Kouser, S. (2013). Genetically modified crops and food security.PloS one, 8(6), e64879. <http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0064879>
I am really bad at eating healthy food, especially since I am away at school. Would be cool to have a post maybe on how you get GMO foods for a good cost for college students, make it relatable for the age group that reading it, would be really cool and helpful!
ReplyDeleteThis is a topic I never knew much about and this post informed me pretty well. It provides very useful information about GM foods that people like me need to know about. I also agree that narrowing an age group and including information about price could be a great way to expand this topic in your next post.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you started your post by making the reader believe that you were speaking directly towards them. The picture really helped capture my attention and made me want to keep reading. You included a lot of really good information and I think this blog could help a lot of people out!
ReplyDeleteThis interests me because I am always trying to eat better, but lack a lot of discipline with that. The blog was informative to me because being healthy is a goal I would like to achieve.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very informative that you mentioned both the opposing and supporting views of food insecurity. I was wondering how you would deal with the negative factors of genetically modified food but you covered that very well! It reminds me of something I learned in nutrition class called GRAS. It stands for Generally Recognized as Safe and it's a list of foods that have not been researched enough to know if they are harmful but they also aren't taken off the market. I know splenda is included in this but it would be interesting to see if any GM foods were on the list.
ReplyDeleteThis is something that is definitely important to read because often times people don't see the harm that can be caused by eating unhealthy foods. What it interesting is how you juxtapose two sides to this debate which greatly adds on to your blog post. The voice found within this article is very evident as well because it is not robotic, repetitive, and is very much something that is unique. Uniqueness is something very important within the blogging world..
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