Genetic Engineering: Addressing Food Security Issues in Africa

This report examines the application of genetic engineering to address the pervasive issue of hunger in Africa. It discusses how genetic modification (GM) technologies enhance crop yields, improve nutritional content, and provide resistance to pests and diseases, ultimately contributing to food security. The report justifies the use of GMOs in agriculture by highlighting the increasing global demand for crops and the need for optimized crop production methods. It also addresses the economic benefits of genetic engineering, such as reduced pesticide use and increased agricultural output. Furthermore, the report explores the challenges of malnutrition and food distribution in Africa, emphasizing the potential of genetic modulation to provide safe, high-quality food supplies and reduce food waste. By increasing food availability and nutritional value, genetic engineering plays a crucial role in combating hunger and improving overall food security in the region. Desklib offers a wealth of similar resources to aid students in their academic pursuits.

Running Head: Genetic Engineering
Genetic Engineering

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Genetic engineering.................................................................................................................................2
Effects of Genetic food modulation.........................................................................................................4
Hunger Problem in Africa.......................................................................................................................6
Problem Solved by using GMO...............................................................................................................8
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................9
References.................................................................................................................................................10

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Executive Summary
This report discuss about how people are suffering due to hunger all over the world.
There are millions of individuals who are starving every day and suffering in the pain of food
craving. Several ways in which food hunger can be eliminated is focused. Genetic engineering is
a bio technology used for direct modification to an organism. Genetic engineering is used in the
market to avoid the efforts of farmers by providing resistance to crops and plants from damage.
It is also called as genetic modification and is used in various fields. Africa is one of the
countries suffering from hunger. Therefore some genetic modified technologies are used in the
society to overcome the problem of hunger and severe disease to improve the food safety and
amount of food nutrition. This can be done conveniently and affordably by making the food
available.
Introduction
Nowadays many people in the emerging world is suffering from hunger and starvation as
the food produces is less than the production of population, therefore less number of choices are
available. Thus advances in science and knowledge are critically has meet the unnerving
challenges by feeding the world’s population (ScienceDirect, 2018). Genetic modified
technology has allowed most of the people in globally to have access to a diverse and abundant
supply of food stock that is safe to eat. Apart from that it is comparatively more nutritious and
additional less expensive (QUARTZ, 2018).

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Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering is used for controlling gens in an organism which proves to make
organism better. Most of the genetic engineering is practiced in agriculture sector. Genetic
Engineering has several benefits in the production of food industry which oppose to unfavorable
climatic conditions, insect infections and saves form disease (Harlander, Roller 2012). It also
reduces the amount of efforts needed on farming, thus saves the energy. Genetic engineering is
the reason for reducing the world hunger as it severs the food at low price. It is used to change
and improve the organism. The genetically modified methods provide economic growth to
farmers which lead to food safety. Genetic engineering is faster and trending in the world as it
prevents undesirable gens from entering in the breed (Conserve Energy Future, 2018).
There are several benefits of genetic engineering in agricultural sector, economic sector
to food processing methods. As by using Genetic methodology (GM) the production of food
crops has increased to millions, in short it is estimated that around 300 million acre land is
required. This was made possible by availability of bio technologies which maintained the level
of production of food (Walsh and Rooyen, 2015). Not only agricultural sector is benefited by
there is a high economic gain by the advanced genetic production as it reduces the cost of
pesticide and usage of herbicides (Thebalance, 2018).
Effects of Genetic food modulation
This genetic technology started in year 2011 by common wealth scientific and industrial
research team of Australia, there are various reasons why this technology is been practiced. As
the population is rising day by day, the expansion of world’s population provides involvement of
using GMO. The major contribution of GMO is to remove starvation around the world.
Obliteration of hunger globally is n higher priority of GMO.

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Justification
As the population is increasing rapidly demand for crops is boosting globally. Therefore
it is important to improve the production of crops. The current scenario showcase that the rate of
increase in crop yield is 1.7% only, on the other hand annual increment in need of crop yields
should is around 2.4% to meet the demands of people. Therefore, to meet the demand of people
and serve the population with nutritional food is possible only by adopting means of optimization
of crop. It is one of the important topic has it is beneficial in terms of potential risks and
environmental effects for both consumers and producers of food. Genetically modified organism
basically aims for curing all the short term and long lasting health problems (Tumushabe, 2018.).
Statics showed that genetically modified food is increasing the yield of production of
food by more than 22% that’s the reasons it is been used. Specially, where the problem of food
used to occur have adopted genetically modified method. It is important as it provides food
security by increasing yield it is used in various industries from medical industry to natural
environmental. It provides immunity to diseases. It is a set of technology which changed the
structure of cells and it is responsible for life on the Earth. Genetic engineering also plays a key
role in medical industry for diagnosing several diseases and defects in clinical (Rosen and
Shapouri, 2018.). Detection methods are prepared to reduce the control of these organisms. It
also provides advanced considerate of function and organization.
There are food crises all over the world. Farmers in country lose some millions of corers
every year in pests and curing of diseases due to lack of facilities. To increase the resistance of
pests and insects genetic modification is used in order to boost the productivity and overall food
supply so that there is no starvation. As consumption of food has increased in the recent decades
the industry is focusing on improving the quality of production basically improving nutritional

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properties. The reduction of production cause huge risk and massive economic loss, therefore
development of new technology has provided industry the opportunity for better food process. In
last years the level of availability of food tock as gown downwards, as the production of crop is
vulnerable according to the climatic conditions and other natural disasters.
World Health Organization (WHO) have also provided high marks to GM crops as it
provides safety assessments and reduces the risk in human health. According to World Health
Organization no effects on human health is noted due to consumption of GM food and have been
approved for the consumption. Apart from that population is growing day by day, the
predication for production of mass is uncertain. This is the reason food shortage occur in some
countries. The problem of food shortage is resolved by new biotechnology which offers tool by
which satisfactory amount of food is produced, which assures food has been supplied to entire
population (Von et. al, 2015.).
Genetic modified technology has gained popularity in the eras it makes the product
available in the market. Also, it is more appropriate for development of market strategies of the
product. The development of this technology has benefited the development of communication
between consumers. Operational communication helps consumers in making decisions about the
products (Osiemo, 2018.). Apart from that GMO involves production of high quality of food by
manipulating the composition of carbohydrates. It also improves food processing methodology
by modifying it, it not only modifies the plant production but it is also valid for animal products.
Genetic modification provides several profits by increasing yield, reducing cost and
decrease environmental damage. It also provides modified quality of food by offering improved
food to the consumer. This truly improves the flavors of the product which upsurges the

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economic impact in the market. As the production can be done is less time, and requirement of
less land which resolves the problem of soil erosion or environmental problems. It is also used
for vaccination purpose as it generates protein and according to scientific research the
modification of crop reduces crop failures and reduces the chances of diseases (Godfray and
Garnett, 2014).
Hunger Problem in Africa
In last years the cry for hunger has widespread across Africa. In this country millions of
people are undernourished. Millions of individuals were dying due to hunger chronic and threats.
Food crises in Africa were growing yearly then effort of New Green Resolution was taken to
provide at least double of yield production (Pray and Ledermann, 2016).
Hunger is constant pain for Africans and is resolved by feeding programs in the areas
where there is lack of food. Preventing and overcoming the fight of malnutrition and saving the
people who are starving. The reason for this suffer is extreme poverty in the country, climate
changes to growth of population. Still there are around more than 800 million individuals who
sleep without eating or dying due to starvation. By genetic modulation of food technology it can
be thought of ending the hunger problem in the world (Walsh and Van, 2015). Especially
African countries have adopted this technology which supported farmers to access to better seeds
and techniques. The significance of GMO is ending the hunger problem in the world, supporting
malnutrition and overcoming the problem of poverty.
Africa took a step ahead for overcoming the fight against hunger and malnutrition. GMO
helps countries who are suffering from food insecurity and prosperity. Therefore, Africa focuses

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on increasing the production of crops for improving food security (Biesalski et. al, 2016.). But
the problem of malnutrition needs to be solved too. Farmers are guided to solve the problem of
nourishing. The problem of hunger in Africa was resolved by genetically modified crops for
public controversy. It increases the production of food in Africa and made food available to
wider range. It impacts the food nutrients by growing the economic access to food (Zheng,
Tashiro, Wang and Sonomoto, 2015).
The main reason behind hunger in Africa was unexpected drought condition, poor harvest
methodology. The less food gets harvested which is one of the reason for hunger. It was
estimated by UN Food and Agriculture Organization that 233 million people were
undernourished in 2016.
One of the benefits of GMO has helped in undertaking the problem of food hunger.
Growing of these crops has proven the growth in agriculture segment. The GM technology has
produced economic growth in the country which leads to resolve the problem of starvation.
These crops are feeding more people as they are cheaper to grow and extended the time and
increased yields to provide food to hungry.
GM crops are severing profit to the industry as it is pushing farmers by advanced
technology to develop more crops. Not only reducing food hunger it has largely beneficial for
society as it improves food protection. It produces animals and plants with beneficial qualities
and has become a part for improvement in food industry (Hu and Xiong, 2014).
Another challenge is growing of the gap between food securities around the world. Some
of food which gets harvested remains unused because of poor handling of the food processing
step. Starvation and malnutrition is spreading all over including Africa. To decrease the gap food

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distribution system is important. Meeting the needs of growing population by increasing the
production of millions of people is a difficult task. But to endure the issue of hunger and
starvation application of genetic modulation is used to neglect hunger and fed population growth
(Ali et. al, 2014). Application of GMO has intensely enlarged the production of food keeping in
mind about the population growth. It has increased the variety of production by substantial cost.
Proving nutrients and high graded food is possible by this technology.
Due to the advanced technologies it has led to reduction in nutrient deficiency as it
generally offers safe food supply to the society with consistent high quality. By using GMO food
supply is available independently in all the seasons and wide variety of food choices is available
at all the time. It has also reduced food waste and lowered the household costs than before as the
production supply the market is served at nominal price. The food requires usually less
preparation time than beforehand, also promises for efficient global food distribution. Food is
dominant or directly related to human health, not only quantity is considered but quality of food
plays an important role as well. The past few decades have perceived to be the alarming years in
increasing of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease as well as
autoimmune diseases (Runge, Senauer, Pardey and Rosegrant, 2015). Basic research showed that
for growing body food and diet are significant factors. Occurrence of these diseases in human
body is profound to be a risk factor as involvement in the etiology of diseases. Therefore,
whether it is food safety or food security prevention of disease and nutrient deficiency need to be
resolved as it is directly connected to human well-being.
Problem Solved by using GMO
This technology has resolved the problem of hunger in Africa and showed hoe his
technology has achieved the production of food by feeding millions of people. It also assured the

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health condition and wellness of the population (Kogen, 2015). GMO technology has met the
need of society by adequate production of food. Food system produced by GMO is safe, reliable
and less costly. Bio technology method helps in modifying the problem of inadequate nutrition.
Low availability of food is major reason of using GMO as genetic alterations protect plant and
insects against pests. It is most commonly used for overcome the demand of food and serve
quality services to the customers in terms of product. To overcome the hunger and poverty GMO
act as a fast market for serving food consumption. It assures that there will be no damage in the
health of an organism (Nicolia, Manzo, Veronesi and Rosellini, 2014.).
GMO supports in providing more food in less amount of land according to the
biotechnologies GMO improves the livelihood globally. It is also used to reduce pesticides and
increases the yields for preventing the damage ecologically. It is the tool which was used by
Africans to fight against dissimilarity and avoid hunger and poverty in the world. Genetically
modified crops possibly fail to germinate rather than it kill organisms additional to pests that are
beneficial for reducing soil fertility and provides resistance to virus and protect crop species.
Conclusion
Genetic modification is one of the reasons to provide alteration in food stock. Many
farmers in Africa have adopted this technology to resolve the issue of starvation in Africa. In this
method all food is modified genetically, seeds don’t grow naturally due to some issues that’s the
reason why GMO is used to feed the population all over the world. To feed the fast growing
population traditional methods wouldn’t be sufficient. Therefore, selective GM methods are used
and they are used for improvement of health condition and the environment factors. Thus with

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the experience of new technology of GM, it indicates that hungry world can be served with
quality of food. In short it escapes the hunger and malnutrition from the society.
References
Ali, A., Muzaffar, A., Awan, M.F., Din, S., Nasir, I.A. and Husnain, T., 2014. Genetically
Modified Foods: Engineered tomato with extra advantages. Adv. life sci, 1(3), pp.139-152.
Biesalski, H.K., Black, R.E. and Koletzko, B. eds., 2016. Hidden hunger: Malnutrition and the
first 1,000 days of life: Causes, consequences and solutions (Vol. 115). Karger Medical and
Scientific Publishers.
Conserve Energy Future, 2018, what is Genetic Engineering, viewed 11 February, <
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/what-is-genetic-engineering.php >.
Godfray, H.C.J. and Garnett, T., 2014. Food security and sustainable intensification. Phil. Trans.
R. Soc. B, 369(1639), p.20120273.
Harlander, S, Roller S 2012, Genetic Modification in the Food Industry: A Strategy for Food
Quality Improvement, Springer Science & Business Media.
Hu, H. and Xiong, L., 2014. Genetic engineering and breeding of drought-resistant crops. Annual
review of plant biology, 65, pp.715-741.
Kogen, L., 2015. Not up for debate: US news coverage of hunger in Africa. International
Communication Gazette, 77(1), pp.3-23.

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Nicolia, A., Manzo, A., Veronesi, F. and Rosellini, D., 2014. An overview of the last 10 years of
genetically engineered crop safety research. Critical reviews in biotechnology, 34(1), pp.77-88.
Osiemo, O., 2018. Saving Africa: The GMO Cold War and the Battle for Africa. Journal of
World Trade, 52(1), pp.143-162.
Pray, C. and Ledermann, S., 2016. Genetically engineered crops and certified organic
agriculture for improving nutrition security in Africa and South Asia. In Hidden Hunger (Vol.
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QUARTZ, 2018, Genetic Modified-ODI, viewed 11 February, < https://qz.com/740532/there-
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Rosen, S. and Shapouri, S., 2018. Global Hunger at Its Roots. Aquaculture, 3, p.00.
Runge, C.F., Senauer, B., Pardey, P.G. and Rosegrant, M.W., 2015. Ending hunger in Africa.
ScienceDirect, 2018, Genetically modified foods: A critical review of their promise and
problems, Viewed 10 February,
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Walsh, C.M. and Van Rooyen, F.C., 2015. Household food security and hunger in rural and
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Walsh, C.M. and Van Rooyen, F.C., 2015. Household food security and hunger in rural and
urban communities in the Free State Province, South Africa. Ecology of food and
nutrition, 54(2), pp.118-137.
Zheng, J., Tashiro, Y., Wang, Q. and Sonomoto, K., 2015. Recent advances to improve
fermentative butanol production: genetic engineering and fermentation technology. Journal of
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