the journal of literature and the arts at saint david ’ s school
by climate variables . One of these places is Tanzania , an east African country , which is plagued by severe food insecurity due to droughts . Fortunately , in 2016 , America ’ s international aid and support agency ( USAID ) stepped in . USAID performed a test where some of the local farmers temporarily changed their current crops to GM crops . Despite the farmers being wary at first , following the trials , they declared success , as the crops had grown very well despite having minimal water for months . With such an impact , think of what GM crops could do for the many countries that lack water .
Since GMOs can thrive anywhere , they present an excellent opportunity for a cleaner future . Conventional and organic farming methods have many unavoidable environmental drawbacks . For example , unlike GMO crops , organic crops must be tilled to avoid being smothered by weeds . This process has carbon emissions in almost every aspect of it , from vehicles burning fuel to carbon being released from the very tilling of the soil and speeding up global warming , leading to more dead crops . That ’ s a pretty terrible cycle . Furthermore , conventional farming can destroy topsoil , cause soil erosion , and increase the chance of harmful fertilizers ending up in our water supply . However , GM plants that have Ht ( herbicide tolerant ) proteins do not need tilled soil to thrive . GMOs with the Bt protein can also kill bugs by destroying their digestive tracts , thus eliminating the need for large fuel-burning machines to spray pesticides on the crops — and further reducing the chances of farm-related water poisoning ! So exciting ! The food industry accounts for 37 % percent of humanity ’ s carbon emissions , but GMOs provide clear ways to preserve Earth while still mass-producing food . With GMOs being more available than ever , it would be just a terrible decision to neglect this amazing asset .
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