Global Food Security Essay

Document Type:Thesis

Subject Area:Other

Document 1

Therefore, to meet the food demands for this population, there is the need for the world to remain globally food secure. Different countries have to rise up to the task and produce high-quality food while minimizing the cost of production (Godfray et al. Nevertheless, this accomplishment is a bit challenging because the climate as well is adversely changing for the worse. Basically, the climate change has considerably profound implications as far as meeting the world’s food demand is concerned. Consequently, when the nations realized that climate change was adversely reducing their production rate, they sought for ways of producing enough food and feed while reducing the environmental impact on production. In addition, the weather and climate scientists have gone forth to predict that by mid-21st century the summers which are the best seasons for agricultural production will be rather hot and this trend will continue and by 2090 summers will be hotter than they will be in the mid-21st century.

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As a result, this increasingly rising temperatures will reduce the production of most important food, fibre and fruit crops and especially if the temperatures go beyond 30C (Godfray et al. From biology, it is known that with increased temperatures, the crops will grow very fast and hence will leave no time for the crops to produce. This will decrease production, and thus the world will continue being food insecure. The recent world’s “Declaration of the World Summit on Food Security” states that the world targets to achieve 70% more food in the next 40 years. The use of GM technology has practiced in 15 developing countries, and the results have been appreciable. Additionally, the world has consumed the produce from the GM crops for 20 years (Qaim, 2009).

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Some of the crops that have been genetically modified and grown include soya beans, corn, cotton and canola and they have recorded increased productivity which has been evident through the increased farmer’s income. The use of GM technology has come along with a number of both health and environmental benefits (Rosegrant et al. As a result, these benefits include the lower use of pesticide and herbicides and minimized tilling practices. The global impacts of malnutrition are profound with approximately 155 million children being reported to be malnourished as at 2016. Actions to end malnutrition are vital, and therefore with the help of GM crops, these effects can be alleviated through increased food production. Nevertheless, the use of GM technology also comes with its weaknesses since it is known to spread problems such as cancer, allergies, and reduced antibiotic resistance.

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Furthermore, there still exists other alternatives apart from GM technology that can be used to alleviate both malnutrition and food insecurity. Some of the new approaches to mitigating malnutrition include aquaculture where fish production can also be done in 500 litres of water. From the essay, it is evident that GM is one among the best approaches to produce crops amidst the adverse climatic changes. It has been tested and proven to modify crops so that they can survive drier and saline environments as well as produce crop varieties which are pest and pathogen resistant. However, the technology comes with its weaknesses such as its association with cancer and allergies. Overly, there are still other approaches to ensuring food security such as saline farming, aquaculture and agricultural improvements.

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