GMOs AND GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

Abstract

The main aim of the paper was an analysis of the present status and changes of commercially grown genetically modified crops and food security from 2012 to 2018, based on the Global Food Security Index by countries. The work used a descriptive approach with elements of inductive reasoning and meta-analysis based on secondary data, derived from Briefs of The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, FAOSTAT and the GFSI, developed and calculated by The Economist Intelligence Unit. The study showed the highest increase in biotech crops was observed in Brazil and the USA, i.e. in countries with a relatively high level of GFSI. Accordingly, the highest positive change in GFSI was achieved in several countries both with quite a high level of GFSI (Chile, Uruguay and Argentina) and with a very low GFSI (Burkina Faso and Myanmar). A slightly positive Pearson correlation coefficient for the area of biotech crops and GFSI indicated that, in the analysed period, when an increase in GM crop area was observed, the value of the GFSI increased as well. However, the value of the Pearson correlation means that the biotech crop area can be considered one of the many factors influencing the food security of the studied countries. The results show that biotech crops cannot only be analysed in the context of food security at a country level, but also at a household level. GM crops could contribute to food production increases and higher food availability, however not necessarily to food security, especially at a country level.

Employing CRISPR/Cas Technology for the Improvement of Potato and Other Tuber Crops

“…Genome editing provides agriculture productivity for the world population, which has reached 7.8 billion and is estimated to exceed 10 billion by 2055 ( FAO, 2017 ; Li and Yan, 2020 ). Up until 2018, GE crops have been planted approximately 191.7 million acres throughout 26 countries and adopted by approximately 17 million farmers ( Yu et al, 2019 ; Przezbórska-Skobiej and Siemiński, 2020 ). The legal status between genetically modified organisms (GMO) and genome-edited products is still in discussion.…”