Topic: 2024-GMOs and Food Security
Country: Albania
Delegate Name: Madilyn Feld
Albania is a somewhat secure country when it comes to food, but improvements still need to be made. For a household to have food insecurity is to have an insufficient amount of food and/or not knowing where your next meal is going to come from. 35% of the world’s population and nearly 32% of Albanians suffer from food insecurity (Halili). That number is growing rapidly by the year. These food shortages are mostly results of climate change and international conflicts, specifically between Ukraine and Russia. According to the Global Hunger Index (GHI), 4.5% of Albanians are considered undernourished and 0.9% of Albanian children under the age of 5 die from hunger each year. Albania ranks 42nd out of 127 in the GHI and has a score of 7.9 which is considered low. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. That could be a plant or animal that has been genetically modified through its DNA. By using GMOs to produce food, we could potentially lower the number of Albanians and even world citizens suffering from food insecurity. By growing foods using biotechnology, we would be able to produce more food, therefore feeding more people. And with even more research and many more regulations, we will be able to ensure the safety of these products. According to an article by an Albanian college student, Albania does not have specific legislation on the usage of GMOs but is working towards establishing a traceability system for products composed of or deriving from GMOs. A traceability system is a way to track and label all GM products in the market.
What can we do to monitor the usage of GMOs and what kinds of systems would be beneficial for all nations and industries? We should ask ourselves these questions when building a solution. We should also discuss the controversies of using GMOs and how allowing them worldwide could affect UN countries. We also need to understand the risks that come with GMOs, especially to our citizens’ health. Can the use of GMOs help combat worldwide food insecurity? We need to fully understand the connections between food security and GMOs before any further actions are taken.
Albania highly suggests creating a global policy to monitor and regulate the usage of GMOs, especially for products placed in markets. Albania has no interest in fully banning the use of GMOs because they currently play a vital role in its food production and industry. That being said, Albania is also not for letting anyone use GMOs without regulations. The perfect solution would include a plan to regulate GMO production and be applicable to all nations, regardless of their type of industry or economy.
Albanian legislation on GMOs is quite limited. Legislation on this issue includes small protocols and a few laws that briefly cover GMO usage. Some of these regulatory actions include the ratification of “Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety”, the acceptance of the ‘GMO amendment,’ and the passing of the “Law on the Production, Processing, Certification, and Marketing of Biological Products”. These all briefly touch on the topic of GMOs but none put specific regulations or constraints on GMOs in place. In the future, we would like to see more of these created and passed in order to safely allow GMOs in our country.
In summary, Albania would look favorably upon coming up with a traceability system in order to regulate GMOs, and create a resolution similar to COP28 that would protect the most vulnerable from the effects of climate change. Resolution 2417 made great progress in the mission for zero hunger by “Condemning starvation of civilians and unlawfully denying humanitarian access as warfare tactics,” but we should strive for more than that. The usage of GMOs could potentially reduce global food insecurity by great amounts and it should continue to improve in safety over the years. In an ideal situation, we would be able to use GMOs worldwide without having to worry about the risks. Albania hopes to work with other countries in committee to improve GMO usage for a better future for the world.
Works Cited
Brankov, Tatajna. “Exploring the Legal Framework of Genetically Modified Organisms in the Western Balkans”. EKOHOMNKA 16 January, 2024.
Dersha, Edlira. “Needs and challenges in the area of Organism of Genetically Modified in Albania”. unece.org.
Albania Country Report. Crisis 24. 7 April, 2022.
Banjo, Damilola. “Albania’s Proposing a ‘Humanitarian Alliance’ to Get UN Aid Faster to Crisis Zones”. Pass Blue. 4 September, 2023.
“Genetically Modified Organisms, Albania Accepts Changes to the Aarhus Convention Regarding Transparency”. Monitor. 17 September, 2020.
“Albania”. Global Hunger Index. 2024.
“Traceability and Labeling”. European Union.
Halili, Eduart. “32% of Albanians Suffering Food Insecurity”. Albanian Daily News. 12 August, 2022.
“COP28 UAE Declaration On Sustainable Agriculture Resilient Food Systems, And Climate Action”. COP28.
“Conflict and Hunger”. WFP.
