One of the most important issues facing the world today is a shortage of food and some think genetically modified foods are a possible solution. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Food is one of the three basic human necessities along with housing and clothes. Although this is general knowledge, a high amount of population on Earth do not have sufficient access to this fundamental necessity. A balanced diet is requirement of healthy living, therefore efforts are made to make a meal available to everyone. Genetically modified foods offer a great alternative that ensure the supply meets the demand. In past, countries like India suffered from tragic famines during the period of World War II. Today, this scenario has shifted to Syria. In contrast, thousands of kilos of food is wasted in developed nations every single day. This hard truth of food wastage creates food shortage. The pressure to provide food is astronomical in developing nations and therefore, botanists have invented novel ways to speed up growth of vegetables, improve their nutrient quality, and prolong their freshness. These genetically modified foods are a great source for developing and warring nations. However, such methods have often proven risky. A genetic mutation can potentially lead to extinction of a crop or species. For example, genetically modified corn was prohibited from sale in USA because it had high fructose levels that caused severe health issues. Such risks are not always detected during early testing and introducing them to general public will might solve the food shortage challenge, but will lead to greater health crisis. Therefore, such experimental crops and species must be thoroughly tested and regulated by FDA before launching them. In conclusion, genetically modified foods offer a good solution to resolve food crisis on global level, but their side effects must be minimal to ensure the safety of people.