GM food and sustainable food production

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The controversial and science-based solution for a sustainable global food system is viewed as genetically modified (GM) food.

Challenges the world is facing – Conflict between food security and environmental protection:

Agriculture is responsible for a quarter of the carbon emissions and the vast majority of the world’s biodiversity losses.
However, there is the need to increase food production (by 50%), as the world’s population keeps growing [will reach 10 billion in 2057 (as per UN estimates)].

Dietary changes to make consumption more sustainable.
Better technologies to create more environmentally friendly methods of agriculture. Gene technologies are a crucial part of the strategy for a sustainable food system.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have altered DNA to change their properties.
GM foods/crops are often referred to as foods produced from or using GMOs.
GMOs were first introduced in the US in 1994, to prolong the shelf life of tomato plants.
Since then, agricultural approval has been given to GM soybeans, wheat, and rice.
Currently, GM crop production uses ~10% of the land as compared to non-GM crops.

Can improve yield, delay ripening to prolong their shelf life, builds resistance to disease/pests, frost, or drought, or adds nutrients.
Food production can be modified to reduce carbon emissions and boost sustainability.

Uncertainty (over-regulation) and concerns about safety (long-term impact on human-animal health and biodiversity).
The monopoly of big corporations (like Monsanto) → expensive GM seeds.

Indian farmers started cultivating Bt cotton – a pest-resistant, GM version of cotton, in 2002-03.
- By 2014, around 96% of the area under cotton cultivation in India was Bt cotton, making India the 4th-largest cultivator of GM crops by acreage and the 2nd largest producer of cotton.
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) cleared the environmental release of mustard hybrid Dhara Mustard Hybrid (DMH-11) for its seed production and testing
Indian scientists have also developed strains of Sub-1 rice, which are much more resistant to flooding.
Golden rice is a GM strain that has been modified to contain vitamin A, in order to combat the shortage of dietary vitamin A in parts of Asia and Africa.

The focus of GM products must be on the social and public enterprise.
The industry must look at more local solutions that help smallholder farmers in developing countries.
Easy availability of open-source seeds and GM technologies.
Creating a licensing landscape that empowers local farmers to adapt to the demands of sustainable agriculture, to meet rising populations and climate change.

GM food and sustainable food production, GM food and sustainable food production