The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is one of three Rome-based agencies within the United Nations system that focus on food security, agriculture, and nutrition. The FAO’s goal is to “achieve food security for all and [to] make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.” Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) play an increasingly prominent role in the global food system and, as such, are a topic of concern for the FAO. GMOs exist in the food consumed by nearly everyone on Earth, whether as directly ingested foodstuffs or as a component in animal feed. This committee is tasked with addressing the impact of GMOs on food security.
Genetically modified organisms are those whose genetic material has been changed through non-natural processes performed in a test tube, culture dish, or elsewhere outside the living organism itself. Typically, this involves the purposeful alteration of specific DeoxyriboNucleic Acid (DNA) elements or the introduction of new genetic materials to enhance desired traits or eliminate undesirable ones. For example, consider a staple crop such as maize modified to increase the amount farmers are able to produce per hectare planted. Or a variety of wheat modified to require less protection from pests, thereby reducing the need for potentially harmful pesticides. No matter what the desired change may be, genetic modification is relatively new and fundamentally different from traditional breeding techniques such as selective cross-pollination, which have been used by humans for millennia.
Understanding the impact of GMOs on food security requires recognizing how the modern food system is highly interconnected and influenced by myriad factors including conflict, anthropogenic climate change, and natural variability. There is no easy solution to the challenge posed by the use of GMOs in food production. At this point, GMOs are too prevalent to ignore and too well-integrated into global food production to consider banning outright. Instead, the committee will need to consider what “food security” means and how to achieve it.
For the last four years global hunger has increased, projections indicate that 582 million people will be chronically undernourished by 2030. The task of this committee is to determine the impact that GMOs may have in reducing those numbers through food security. Resources like the FAO’s Food Price Index (FFPI) and sources of funding such as the FAO’s proposed Global Food Import Financing Facility (FIFF) should be considered as the committee addresses this topic.
Focus Questions:
- Is your country facing food security challenges? How does this impact your government’s stance on GMOs?
- Why is there public opposition to GMOs?
Research Links:
Genetically modified crops: Safety, benefits, risks and global status
https://www.fao.org/3/cb8375en/cb8375en.pdf
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024
https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/cd1254en
