Canada’s Food Guide identifies the 4 food groups that make up our diet. Important vitamins, minerals and amino acids are obtained from each of these food groups. Despite that, it is possible to obtain all the vitamins and minerals from plant-based sources. This is the basis of vegetarianism. However, micronutrients are often unequally distributed between plant species and even within the different tissues of the same plant. For example, the edible part of rice plants, also known as the rice endosperm, contains minimal amounts of iron, folate, pro-vitamin A, and vitamin E. On the other hand, the leaf contains satisfactory amounts of these micronutrients. Unfortunately the leaf is not suitable …show more content…
This results in the production of a GMO. Although GMOs can technically arise from both methods, the mainstream media often regards GMOs as the product of modern biotechnology. Nevertheless, both methods present an opportunity to reach areas where supplementation and conventional fortification are difficult to implement and/or limited (World Health Organization, 2010). This seemingly cancels out the inequitable distribution factor that arose in the earlier discussion. In fact, this is one of the main arguments pro-GMO supporters cite. If this strategy follows through with its claims, it is very possible that GMOs can end malnutrition. Additionally, crop plants can be modified in order to increase the yield obtained. Based on these two predicted outcomes, it certainly seems as if GMOs can eradicate world hunger. Nonetheless, this is not actually the case as can be seen through the case studies of several …show more content…
Malnutrition is the result of generally not eating enough as well as not eating enough of the right types of food. This makes sense since those who are impoverished cannot afford to buy the nutritious foods they need. Studies show that every extra 100 g of fats and refined sugars consumed decreased diet costs by 0.05 to 0.4 Euros, whereas every extra 100 g of fruits and vegetables consumed increased diet costs by 0.18 to 0.29 Euros (Frazao, 2005). This data demonstrates that fruits and vegetables, the healthier alternative, are more expensive overall. Hence, the social class of an individual contributes to his/her diet. GMOs do not diminish the gaps between these social classes. In fact, it increases them since it allows for food production to be primarily controlled by large multi-national companies like Monsanto. These companies are known for engaging in anti-competitive practices such as selling seeds that produce non fertile plants, thus forcing the farmer to buy new seeds every year (Harhoff, Regibeau, & Rockett, 2001). In some cases, the second-generation seeds are fertile but farmers can be sued if they are caught using them due to patent laws. This is exactly what happened in Bowman vs Monsanto. Mr. Bowman bought and harvested second-generation soya bean seeds that were intended for human and animal consumption. Some of the seeds he bought contained herbicide resistance, a trait that was introduced