ARTICLE: Can We Feed a Growing Global Population Sustainably? With or Without GMOs?

The following is an excerpt of an article by Andrew Porterfield at the Genetic Literacy Project on feeding a rapidly growing global population.

Critics and supporters of biotechnology are at odds of whether the world faces a genuine food shortage, and the role that genetically engineered crops could play in addressing future challenges.

Many genetic engineering advocates note that the world population is on course to exceed 9 billion by 2050. Most people agree that the rise in the sheer number of people along with the increased caloric demands of the developing world that is becoming more prosperous and more desirous of meat in their diet will stress the global food system. While not a silver bullet, GM foods are a key tool, argue most scientists and many science journalists, in helping to addressing this inevitable crisis.

According to the United Nations and others, hunger that exists today—particularly in industrialized countries—isn’t due to an outright shortage of crops and animals, but distribution, storage, economic and political issues. So the problem could theoretically be solved—if we had a perfect distribution system, which we don’t and is impossible to achieve.

So the real issue becomes: How do we produce more food in an environmentally sustainable way?

To read the entire article, please visit the Genetic Literacy Project website.