Abstract

The world population will hit the nine billion mark by 2050. Environmentally sustainable agriculture developed in a way that safeguarded the Earth and still could feed all nations is needed. All things being considered, the fact remains that the entire species on Earth share a single interconnected ecosystem. Finding acceptable solutions for the environmental and natural resource management problems and at the same time curbing hunger is the goal. But, it requires analysis of many environmental issues done from cross-cultural, multinational, multidisciplinary, combinations of methods and comparative perspective. It is within this view that a development, analysis and discussion is made on the thorny but highly interesting subject of genetically engineered plants (GEP). It employed data search and literature perusal that helped in the interrogation of GEP world perspective. The geographical information system (GIS) analysis and mapping of the development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in USA from 1987 to 2003 was made. The results were suggestions on how knowledge on GMOs could better disseminated for informed worldwide view and curb scepticism based on fears of GMOs perceived risks of impacts which might be imposed on the environment. GMOs started in 1992 and today, USA has taken the lead in 45 States. The same crops planted with modern technology are still grown in areas designated by the Native Americans who used primitive methods that were totally dependent on the natural climatic conditions.

Key words: Dominant social paradigm (DSP), anthropocentric, unsustainable resource use, the new environmental paradigm (NEP), NEO-Luddites, Brownlash view, Lomborg school of thought, genetically engineered plants, biotechnology, genetic engineering, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), geographical information systems (GIS), traditional ecological knowledge (TEK).