Genetically Modified Food Sci 207 Essay

Genetically Modified Food and Global Hunger
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SCI 207
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Genetically Modified Food and Global Hunger
The term Genetic Engineering refers to the “deliberate modification of the characteristics of an organism by manipulating its genetic material”. (Turk & Bensel, 2011) This includes taking certain aspects of DNA from one type of organism or plant and putting it into another as to try to make a super organism that can fare better than it could have originally. For instance, taking a desirable trait like resistance to pest or disease and putting it into another organism could make it more useful for farming, fiber or industrial uses. Throughout this paper I will cover the reasons that one could be for or against genetically engineered food.   This process could eventually become the way of the future and help to reduce any fears of food shortages however,   at this time it is such a new technology that still needs tested further before relying on it to solve any food security issues.
In nature population has always been controlled by the need for the population to eat.   Amongst other things such as disease, and natural disaster the need for food is the primary method of population control.   A population of any species can never exceed its food supply or obviously the population will start to die off because of hunger.   Humans have managed to use technology to alter the laws of nature governing population.   In the beginning we were hunter gatherers eating only what we could hunt and kill or gather from various sources.   When the sources were exhausted either the population had to decline or we had to move to a new location where more resources were available.   Later humans were able to harness the power of agriculture and were able to grow their own food.   With the rise of agriculture it was no longer necessary to uproot an entire population and move to where resources were available.   Instead we were able to bring...