Seed of Prosperity

Its immoral for us not to take care of each other. Human ingenuity has come a long way
since the time of Malthus. Our population has grown, our technology has proven beneficial,
and we are discovering new ways to benefit ourselves as a species. To deny the third of the
worlds population access to this seed of prosperity is a cruel immoral judgment.

DeVante Montgomery
Seed of Prosperity

In the middle 1700s Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus, an English cleric and
scholar, published The Principle of Population. This essay focused on human population
and availability of food resource as population increases. In the essay, Malthus wrote
his theory on population growth stating, Unchecked population growth would quickly
exceed carrying capacity, leading to overpopulation and social problems. He warned
that population growth would exceed resource growth and cause a catastrophic
problem for the human race. His idea was that this would occur because the population
would grow exponentially while food supply grew arithmetically.

What the Reverend failed to take into account was human ingenuity. Mans
desire for knowledge on alternative ways to prevent this impending catastrophe. His
idea is nothing more than a 16th century scholar whose vision is clouded by personal
beliefs and lack of true understanding of how successful science fueled by human
innovation can be. Because of this, his essay of moral restraint is incorrect.
In 1972 the first recombinant DNA molecules were produced by Paul Berg, a
recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and professor of biochemistry at Stanford
University. In 1973 Genetic engineering, the direct manipulation of genes using
biotechnology, was first accomplished by Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen. From 1973
to the present, this new technology invented by these scientist became commercialized
to companies. Thus GMOs, genetically modified organisms, were born.

Feeding America, an American based organization whose mission is to prevent

hunger across the United States, released a national hunger report in 2013. They found
that in 2013 alone over 49.1 million Americans lived in food insecure household,
including 33.3 million adults and 15.8 million children. In 2015 The World Food
Programmed, a sub-organization of the UN Health Organization, found that some 805
million people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. Thats
about one in nine people on earth. They also found that poor nutrition causes nearly
45% of deaths in children under 5. Thats about 3.1 million people each year.

In the majority of these places, its near impossible to plant crops because of
climate or region. 16th century logic could not have seen the many catastrophic
problems that also play a key role and why almost a third of the worlds population are
starving. GMOs however can reverse these numbers and bring prosperity to places
where prosperity cant be planted. Amy Paturel, a publisher for WebMDs food and
recipes page, posted that, These plants can help farmers boost their yield by making
crops that can live through a drought or the cold and resist disease. She also states
that by 2050, GM programs will help feed an extra 2 billion people that will fill the planet.
Kent Bradford, PhD from the University of California, Davis explained that not using
these tools would push us back 40 to 50 years in food production. Not only will this GM
foods allow for man to reach a new level to provide for a growing population, but they
also have zero health risks as well. The USFDA and American Medical Association with
the World Health, have found that genetically modified food ingredients are safe and
have no negative health effects.

Its immoral for us not to take care of each other. Human ingenuity has come a
long way since the time of Malthus. Our population has grown, our technology has
proven beneficial, and we are discovering new ways to benefit ourselves as a species.
To deny the third of the worlds population access to this seed of prosperity is a cruel
immoral judgment. The opponents of this say we do nothing more than play god when
we alter the genetics of food to make them safer and stronger. However, weve found
cures from major illnesses like: Heart Diseases, Acute Leukemias, and Lymph
proliferative Disorders through science and research. Imagine what the world can be if
we were to take that next step

GMOs are one small step from man that will lead to a greater leap for mankind.
This seed of prosperity will give hope to the hopeless, and life where life couldnt be
found. Lets decrease the 3.1 million deaths caused by hunger and starvation. Lets
change the world.

Works Cited
Harmon, Amy. "A Lonely Quest for Facts on Genetically Modified Crops." The New York
Times. The New York Times, 04 Jan. 2014. Web. 03 Mar. 2015.
"GMOs May Feed the World Using Fewer Pesticides." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.
"The Facts About GMO." The Facts About GMO. The Grocery Manufacturers Association,
n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.
"The Facts About GMO." The Facts About GMO. The Grocery Manufacturers
Association, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015.