Genetically-modified (GM) foodstuffs are here to stay.That’s not to say that food prod
uced by conventional agriculture will disappear, but simply that food-buying patterns will polarize: there will be a niche market for conventional foodstuffs just as there is for organic food.It may even be that GM food will become the food of preference because consumers come to appreciate the health benefits of reduced pesticide use.
Currently there are some 20,000 chemicals in use, but the scientists only have detailed information around 1,000 of them.To see the advantages of GM food you have only to consider the recent press revelation that the average lettuce receives eleven pesticide applications before it reaches the supermarket shelf.I’m sure chemicals and their role in disease will become a big issue in the 21st century as the population of the developed world worries increasingly about its health.
The reason GM food will not go away is that we need a three-fold increase in food production by the year 2050 to keep pace with the world’s predicted population growth to ten or eleven billion.It’s not just a question of more mouths to feed either.What is often forgotten is that all these extra people will take up space, reducing the overall land available for agriculture.
The world has 800 million hungry people.Until now, food supplies have been increased by improved varieties, pesticides and artificial fertilizers: the green revolution.Now we’re on the edge of a new one: a genetic revolution.
It may well be that in the long term it is the developing world that benefits most from GM food.It is true that for the next years or so GM crops may be too expensive.
6. According to the passage, food supplies have been increased by all the following except_____________.
A.pesticides
B.artificial fertilizers
C.improved varieties
D.transportation
7.How many chemicals are still less familiar to the scientists？()
A.20,000.
B.1,000
C.19,000
D.21,000.
8.Why will people prefer GM food in the future？()
A.Because it uses less pesticides.
B.Because it is much cheaper.
C.Because the production is increased.
D.Because it is organic food.
9.Which of the following is NOT true？()
A.By 2050, the world population will grow to ten or eleven billion.
B.In the 21st century, GM food will take the place of conventional food.
C.More and more people will reduce the overall land available for farming.
D.More and more people will consume more food and occupy more space.
10.The author’s attitude towards GM food is _______.
A.negative
B.positive
C.critical
D.uncertain
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