Today there are 6 billion people on the Earth. By the year 2050, there may be 12.5 billion. There are a lot of people to feed. We need more food.
One way to produce more food is by growing stronger plants. For thousands of years, farmers have made plants better. Every season, they pick the best plants for the next season. It works very slowly. Since 1983, scientists have been able to change plants more quickly by changing their genetic material(遗传物质). Foods from plants grown in this way are call genetically modified foods(转基因食品), or GM foods.
By changing the genetic material of a plant, it is possible to make new plants. They make plants strong against plant diseases. They can also help in our diseases: a kind of rice is being prepared, for example, which stops people from becoming blind.
Rich countries produce GM foods because they are easy to grow and bring in more money. Poor countries are interested in them because they help produce more food.
GM plants are not natural. No one knows how good or bad they are. Making GM foods is only one way of feeding people in 2050. There are strong feelings against them, because the are unnatural. They may feed people, and then hurt them or their children later. But, both rich and poor countries are very interested in their use, and they are not going away. In 2050, we may think differently about them.
【小题1】GM foods are made by ________.| A．farmers | B．workers | C．scientists | D．plants |
| A．They make plants strong against diseases. | B．They are unnatural. |
| C．They can help in human diseases. | D．Both A and C. |
| A．are a quick way to produce food | B．grow in the wild |
| C．are safe | D．are grown only in rich countries |
| A．They are not useful. | B．They are not helpful. |
| C．They are not natural. | D．They are not cheap. |
| A．GM foods will disappear one day in the future |
| B．GM foods will not disappear in the future |
| C．people will not be interested in GM foods |
| D．people will have to stop using GM foods |
