The whole issue of GMO has got Nigerians thinking, “Is it just another scam?” A lot of social media influencers have come out to air their thoughts on the matter, but first, let me explain what GMO entails.
Genetically modified organisms are organisms that have their genes altered through bio engineering to increase the amount or quality of the foods produced. Sounds good, right? Well, although the quantity is promising and they are resistant to pests, they carry a lot of disadvantages that worry us.
Some of these foods have been genetically altered, which may cause an allergic reaction in some of the consumers. What causes the most worry is how it will affect the economy. The fact that GM crops often don’t produce seeds raises fears of a monopoly, where farmers are forced to rely on a single supplier. Farmers can’t produce more GM crops without going back to where they got it from. If we trust it now and it later becomes scarce, the prices will rise, and it will show its effect on our economy.
The land that grows these crops will or may not be able to grow the natural ones. So, if there is an issue with the GM crops, there is no turning back to the originals. We would rather not start what we cannot finish. One issue can make everything go wrong. This will mean the companies making such must supply non-stop, or else the country will be stranded.
This will not be the first time we are being explained to about GMOs. Aproko Doctor came out to explain what it entails. As he made us know that there are companies that control these GMOs, there are also benefits to the production of such modified crops. We have to weigh the benefits and the disadvantages of this so as not to start an issue we can’t resolve.
Of course, we will have larger, adaptive, and pest-resistant crops, but what will be the future consequence? It’s just like watching those movies where they make bad decisions and say “what could possibly go wrong,” and then everything goes wrong.
Bill Gates is receiving backlash after his visit to Nigeria to push for the embracement of GM crops. Looking at it, Bill is posing a good proposal. These foods can reduce the rate of hunger, but what about the economic repercussions?
GMOs are not bad, neither are they hazardous to those who are not allergic to them, but there has to be a way the modified crops will not affect the natural ones because we can’t afford full commitment to it. If the GM crops didn’t have pronounced red flags, Nigerians would have embraced it, and it would have been somewhat of a new trend.
