Blog Post: Genetically Modified Organisms

As markers of climate change escalate around the world, food experts note that global crop yields have been decreasing — a phenomenon directly linked to the exacerbation of global warming. The myriad of recent academic research that presents the use of genetically modified crops as a potential solution to support climate change mitigation has been met by both support and disdain by Member States and global entities alike.

Boston University researchers explain that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are foods or plants whose genetic material has been altered to produce particular traits or achieve a desired result. UN partners such as the World Economic Forum have recently expressed their belief that as “food systems account for over ⅓ of global greenhouse gas emissions”, engineered crops have the potential to more efficiently move and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The latest report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has made it clear that carbon removal from the atmosphere must be a crucial part of any comprehensive climate action plan. Many researchers are working to develop GMOs to aid in this effort; researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have been able to engineer roots that can better resist decomposition, therefore minimizing carbon escape. In addition, researchers at the Innovative Genomics Institute have been able to use “CRISPR gene-editing technology to improve the ability of plants and soil microbes to capture and store carbon from the atmosphere in a variety of ways”.

Genetically modified organisms have also recently emerged as an opportunity to increase global crop yields, so that they will be able to feed more of the world’s increasing population.

This is a sentiment echoed by the United Nation’s former Director of the World Health Organization’s Food Safety Department, Jorgen Schlundt, who emphasized the potential of GMOs to enhance human health and development, if they are properly assessed for long - term risks to both human health and the environment.

Global responses range from hesitantly acceptant to vehemently opposed. Countries such as India and Pakistan have slowly started including GMOs in their food regulations, while nations throughout Africa are and have been hesitant for a long time, “only four African countries have allowed the commercial growing of genetically modified foods for human consumption: South African, Egypt, Burkina Faso, and Sudan. As you prepare to participate in HNMUN’s Commission on Science and Technology for Development, we encourage you to think critically about global policy surrounding GMOs. What are the historical factors that might lead to the hesitancy of developing and African countries in allowing genetically modified crops? How can GMOs be used as a tool for climate and food equity while ensuring they meet international safety standards?