philips biology blog: February 2011

We live on a planet that could be in major trouble in the future. Our population is rapidly growing, so quickly that scientists have suggested that our agricultural industry will not have a chance to produce enough food to feed many parts of the world unless we modernize agricultural methods. If we hope to avoid such problems, it might be very possible that our future food supplies will come from genetically modified foods and industrial agricultural methods.

Genetically modified foods are becoming a increasing force in industrial agriculture. Micro-biologists have been constantly improving this new technology to make foods have more desired qualities like higher productivity, richer in vitamins and minerals as well as resistant to pests and survive in harsher climates. A good example is Golden rice: It was created to provide villagers of poorer areas of Asia more nutrients, vitamins and minerals because the wild rice that was grown did not provide these things for them. However there is alot of controversy toward GM foods, a study by the AAEM suggested that eating GM foods might result in health problems like aging and weakened immune systems, aswell as possible environmental damage from GM plants being able to breed. Genetic modification is heavily mandated by the government and only products that are 100% safe are available for purchase, in fact almost 65% of all food products bought have some trace of genetic modification inside. If we support GM foods and products it might be able to support the future population of Earth while being safe and responsible at the same time.

Industrial agriculture also seems to be the solution to our food shortages. Using the benefits of GM technology, it uses sophisticated technologies to improve productivity and collect as much out of what little we have. Many argue that with agriculture being industrialized, we are destroying the environment and diversity. Corporations may force people to leave their homes in order to gain productive lands like when indigenous people of Chiapas, Mexico were forced to leave their lands and settle in infertile lands. Besides physical destruction of enviorments, the large amounts of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides used leach into the soil and natural water bodies spreading the destruction and ecological devastation.

Is industrial agriculture a prime place to get our food supplies? In the past we have been careless to the environment and if we continue to use very dangerous methods in our agriculture we will not only harm the ecosystems but potentially ourselves. We need to look at how we currently farm and change our methods to safer and more responsible ways. If other industries like automotive and power generation are going green, why isn't our agricultural industry doing the same?