Food security and transgenic foods

Abstract

One of the issues of greatest concern at the global level is the overpopulation of the planet. In recent years the population has grown exponentially and it is expected that in future the number of people inhabiting the planet will continue to increase. This situation poses a threat to food security; according to official agencies, it will be necessary to increase food production by at least 50% by 2050. To achieve this there are several possibilities: increase the area devoted to crops, increase their intensity or increase yield. The objective of this article is to investigate whether transgenic can be the solution to guarantee the Food Security. For this, the advantages of these products are analyzed in different areas, but especially in agriculture and livestock. However, there is a strong rejection of these foods for several reasons. These include the potential risk to health, loss of biodiversity and, above all, the monopoly of large companies that control the agricultural sector. After analyzing various sources of information and existing legislation on genetically modified organisms, it is concluded that genetically modified organisms are not good or bad in themselves; genetic engineering is an instrument that, properly regulated and used, it can contribute to reducing food insecurity, present and future.