GMO's Sustainable Solution For Developing Countries?

Source: http://www.treehugger.com/do-you-know-what-you-eat-gmo-carrot.jpg

For those of you who don’t know GMO stands for genetically modified organism. I’m sure many of you have heard of the unsustainable agriculture and forestry practices that go on in some of the developing countries. The harsh conditions that are presented in many of these climates makes it very difficult to operate a sustainable practice, farmers are only getting yields from half the crops they plant and the rest is dying from the poor environmental conditions and disease. The agricultural practices currently being used by these famers cannot address this problem. Many of the farmers are substance famer which means there is no money/profits for pesticides or other agricultural treatments. Plants can be genetically modified to prevent them from getting disease and allow them to thrive under conditions which they would not normally. Right now these countries have a low happy planet index as they are unable to provide their citizens with good a standard of living while respecting the environment.

I think GMO’s are a great way for developing countries to become more sustainable. It will allow then to obtained better yields from their crops and make profits instead of just growing enough for substance. There are places in these countries where there is not enough food to go around (which is not sustainable) and GMO’s are a viable method to produce enough food for everyone. Since GMO’s can be engineered to survive under the existing environmental barriers, the integrity of the environmental can stay intake and actually be better managed then it was previously. GMO’s are also a sustainable resource because they do not require any extra equipment, pesticide or fertilizers that many developing countries cannot afford, the same practices currently being used will be successful with the GMO variety of the plant. Therefore GMOs can increase theses countries Happy Planet Index and overall sustainability by providing these countries with a better quality of life by ensuring everyone is feed and providing a sustainable market in the economy while respecting the environment.

Some people disagree with this and think that it is unsustainable because these countries will become dependent on GMO’s. But looking at our western society we are dependent on pesticides, fertilizer and yes even GMO’s. So how their use of GMO is’s any less sustainable than the methods used in western society. And even if they do become dependent on GMO’s they will be able to afford to purchase them from the profits they are making off their additional yields generated by the GMO’s. Seems like a win, win situation to me.