Farming in the Texas Panhandle is a lifestyle. Corn is one of the largest produced crops in the world and in the panhandle. It is a lot of families’ lively hood. These families grow many crops, but corn seems to be one of the most popular. In order to grow corn, they need water, but with the recent drought, these families have been struggling to find alternative methods to produce high yields. Everything from simply just changing their crop to something that needs less water to scientist engineering new breeds of said crop so that it can flourish with less water. In this paper I will cover some of these methods and hopefully give an insight to what these farmers are dealing with on a daily basis. In the Texas Panhandle corn is the major crop …show more content…
Genetically modified crops have become increasingly popular in the last few decades. Despite the fact that they are a controversial topic: we see GMOs as a growing technology that if regulated and tested will have great benefits when it comes to conserving water. One of the ways they are modifying genes is to make the plant more drought tolerant and take less water to germinate. In addition, to produce a better yield while practicing dry land farming and controlled irrigation water conservation. There are studies trying to modify the plants so that they can increase the rate of photosynthesis and depth of root structure. Scientists are also trying to decrease the rate of water loss through transpiration. “Corn, the crop with the highest global production, annually sustains losses on the order of 15 percent of potential yield attributable to drought. As the climate changes as a consequence of global warming, some climates will become more arid, increasing drought and resulting in up to 10 million more lost tons of maize per year. It has been estimated that 25 percent of these losses may be resolved by genetically modifying maize to be more drought tolerant.” (Clive.
Texas has an overall poverty percentage of 15.6 as of 2016. Texas ranks 39th state of the most number of people that fall below the poverty line with an annual salary of $24,340 for a family of four. In 2016, the United States of America had 27,236,443 below the poverty line, which 4,261,337 of them were from the State of Texas. The causes of poverty vary for everyone since each has different situations, but common causes include single-parent households and lack of education.
Texas has a style all its own. Whether you’re eating the incomparable Tex-Mex, buying high-fashion cowboy boots, or admiring a home built with dazzling Austin stone, you always recognize the Texas “style stamp” of approval. In much the same way, the music of Texas--played in Texas or played by Texans--has an unmistakable air of Texan authenticity. Also much like the visual arts, pinning down exactly what makes it unique to Texas takes some work. Like most musical genres, however, the Texas style has had various influences over time: Country--Because most of the folks who originally settled in Texas were from other Southern states, they naturally brought their country music with them.
For the last several decades, the world has been plagued by widespread starvation and poverty. Economies are failing in numerous countries, and developing nations struggle to feed their inhabitants. As a result of the world’s mounting overpopulation, food has become scarce and resources are rapidly dwindling. However, modern science has provided a solution: agricultural biotechnology. Genetically engineered crops represent the bright future of agriculture. Crops like cotton, corn, and soybeans can have genes inserted or deleted into their cell membranes; this modification facilitates pest and virus resistance, drought tolerance, and even provides nutritional enhancement. Genetically altered crops produce much higher
The History of Texas Texas history itself had its own amazing story. The small number of American settlers moved to the land of Texas had led to the dramatic war with the Mexicans. The land of Texas was used to be owned by Mexicans. Due to the argument between Texans and Mexicans caused the battle of San Jacinto and Mexican War. In long ago before American settlers moved to Texas, this place was so rich and an abundance of land.
Agronomists have been working on these problems for years, but the rapid population growth of humans makes overcoming these challenges increasingly urgent. If we can’t feed the world, it will eventually feed on us.” (Newsweek/United Nations) Scientists find a way to add “medicine” to plant genes, which help it withstands pest attacks and drought problems.“Some GMO corn crops can protect harvests in water-limited conditions better than conventionally produced crops. Other GMOs can also promote use of no-till farming, which keeps more moisture in the soil. No-till also enables farmers to make fewer passes through the field using machinery, which means less fuel used and greenhouse gases emitted.”(Monsanto) GMOs are useful for helping with planting crops in any area of the world.
Because of genetic engineering, Mexico will most likely not be able to keep their variety of corn. One reason Mexico will not be able to maintain its variety of corn is cross pollination. Eventually cross pollination will happen to farmers in Mexico. In an incident involving Percy Schmeiser, cross pollination brought Monsanto’s patented seed into Percy’s land without his knowledge. However, Mexico can avoid issues such as this with improving the land corn is grown on. One possible solution is if farmers enclosed their farms with keeping the sun on their crops. This can help avoid cross pollination while also maintaining full growth of their crops. Also, the seeds taken from the corn can be kept in a safe location in order to prevent the seeds
One of the many potential that GMOs are expected to achieve in the up and coming years is the ability to grow food in harsh conditions and unsuitable conditions. For example in china half the cotton grown in 2002 was genetically modified to produce a substance that is
Agriculture, a necessity for providing basic needs, has evolved tremendously since the first time it was practiced. When first started, agriculture was relatively simple: plant the seeds, water the seeds, and gather the end product. Now, agriculture has changed to include pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers to produce and maintain higher yields. The Green Revolution in the 1940’s to 1970’s help modernize agriculture with high-yielding varieties, better irrigation systems, and synthetic fertilizers. Without the Green Revolution, world hunger would have been a lot higher than it was in the past (Easterbrook 1997). Conventional farming was established thanks to the revolution and helped greatly in keeping world food security. The world is still a limited resource and the amount of fertile land that allows production of agriculture can only decrease from now. Current production of agriculture may not be able to keep up with the steady population growth of the developing countries. The population is projected to increase from roughly 7 billion currently to 9.1 billion by 2050, meaning that there will be 2 billion more mouths to feed (UNPD). Agriculture needed something new to help provide higher yields of crops in order to keep world hunger levels at a minimum. Luckily in the mid 1990’s, genetically modified organism, or GMO, crops were implemented on a large scale in the United States.
Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is one of the most significantly growing issue around the world. GMOs are organisms in which the genetic material has been altered to select for certain genotype that is more favored like improving productivity, quality and building resistance to certain environmental disasters, such disasters are becoming increasingly frequent on a planet hit by climate change, where heat destroys crops, soil has been spoiled due to over-farming and famine, and bugs feasting on helpless floras. World hunger and food insecurity are a growing issue all over the world, specially in the developing countries, among the many potential biotechnologies that are available, and the different ways in which they can be applied, genetic modification (GM) of crops is becoming the center of attention , GMOs can be the answer to the world hunger problem that is increasing to cover more percentage of the world population every year.
Since their discovery in the 1980s to today in 2016, the implication of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in agriculture is ruthlessly debated and discussed with no real solution or overwhelming majority on one position. The global advancement in modern science and technology has brought forth many innovations and inventions that are designed to overcome various life challenges. GMOs are one such innovation that has been created to help alleviate agricultural problems and enhance the simple act of growing crops. GMOs, a term used to describe the development of animals or plants whose genetic material is altered in order to be a superior version of the traditional one, are seen as a significant development in science that can solve problems related to agricultural practices. It is deemed a technological advancement that can improve the problems related to food production and starvation. However, many critics believe that GMOs can be a potential hazard to the environment, animals, and humans alike. In addition, many people are concerned about the consumption of crops that are chemically changed in place of crops that are naturally grown with little scientific intervention. The implementation of GMOs brings forth a pivotal environmental issue because GMOs can pose as a future solution to agricultural production and world hunger but also have the potential to cause harm to humans and the environment.
Genetic engineering provides a means to introduce genes into plants via mechanisms that are different in some respects from classical breeding. A number of commercialized, genetically engineered (GE) varieties, most notably canola, cotton, maize and soybean, were created using this technology, and at present the traits introduced are herbicide and/or pest tolerance. Gene technology enables the increase of production in plants, as well as
From 1800 to 2014, the population has grown from 1 billion to 7 billion people. With this massive explosion in population, and increased use of technology, it has placed strain on our planets’ limited food resources, resulting in increased mortality rates due to hunger and starvation. GMO’s, also known as genetically modified organisms, are plants or animals that have had their genes directly manipulated by humans, that claim to help solve this problem, along with providing additional benefits to society. Genetically modified plants promise to have increased crop yield, resistance to disease and pests, and maximized nutritional value, to help reduce food production issues around the world. However, Harvard University has determined that
In the world today, numerous Americans see terrorism as the leading threat to security, but for much of the human race, the effects of growing populations, rising temperatures, water shortages, and droughts on food availability present far more daunting challenges. Unfortunately, like nearly all problems humans face, a clear-cut answer may not exist. However, with recent scientific advances, genetically modified crops have made it possible to help feed a hungry world through GMOs. People often ask the question, should farmers practice GMO farming? It seems ludicrous to say no to technological advances that could help one billion chronically hungry people in the world. The potential advantages of genetically modified foods, such as
With the world’s population exponentially increasing, massive hunger in third world countries, and an ever-changing environment due to climate change, conventional crops can no longer sustain the world’s population. The solution to this conundrum lies in the introduction of genetically modified crops: a new breakthrough in the agricultural industry. GMOs (Genetically modified organisms) have resistance to new aggressive sources of weeds, pests, and other diseases in order to thrive even in harsh environments. They also have larger crop
Since 1996, farmers in developing countries have received an extra 70 billion dollars from switching to genetically modified crops as they are able to produce a higher yield (Staropoli, 2016). Globally, farmers have reported that on average, they were able to make back over 3 dollars on every genetically modified plant in comparison to traditional crops. However, that 3 dollars was actually over 4 dollars in developing countries in South America, Africa, and parts of Asia (Staropoli, 2016). For example, corn farmers who had genetically modified insect resistant crops claimed to have a 13 percent increase in their yield, whilst cotton farmers had a 17 percent yield in comparison to conventional farmers (Lendman, 2008). Farmers are able to get a notable yield improvement but at the cost of plant diversity and vulnerable plants.