Download Country: North Korea

Country: North Korea
Committee: Food and Agricultural Organization
Topic: Genetically Modified Foods
Delegates: Alicia Hendrickson and Matt Robertson
The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea has suffered a long time from the
effects of Starvation and poverty. Since the unofficial ending of the Korean War there has
been tension between the DPRK and South Korea. Considering the lack of food and the
effect it has had on the population of our nation, the idea of Genetically Modified Foods
is often a topic of debate. In the early 90’s the DPRK suffered a terrible famine that was
spiked by an economic low. Natural Disasters played a large role in the economic
disparity we faced. During this time our food supply was approximately 1 million tons of
food short of the internationally accepted dietary minimum. Over 500,000 of our people
were lost due to famine related illnesses including starvation. To this day it is estimated
that more than half of the children in the DPRK are malnourished to some degree.
While recent talks have been occurring in the last decade between the DPRK and
South Korea, there is nothing to suggest that any time soon our nations will reunite. We
have remained separately functioning since the Korean War under two distinctively
different governments. The food sources for the DPRK have constantly been changing
depending on different world situations. Since 1997 the home production of foods has
almost doubled. This still is not enough to maintain the nourishment of all of our people.
Not being on very good terms with many of the countries in the UN it is hard to find a
source of donations to save our starving people. With the election of President George W.
Bush to the United States Presidency we lost over 310,000 tons of food shipments. With
such a large loss we are forced to try and seek out alternate food sources to make up for
our lack of production. Genetically Modified Foods are one of the major ideas to
maintain the well being of the people of the DPRK.
The advantages as well as disadvantages of Genetically Modified foods have not
been fully tested yet. It is estimated that in these foods the nutritional values exceed that
of unmodified versions, and that it is even possible to remove allergens. Since rice is one
of the main products in Asia, a genetically modified version of rice could be very helpful
to our country. It could contain all of the nutrition that the people of the DPRK don’t get
from the lack of diversity in their food groups. For this reason we are very accepting of
Genetically Modified foods. Our nation has seen the effects of poverty and starvation,
and will do anything to try and counteract that. While it is argued that these foods may be
unhealthy, there have been no justifications to these arguments. In the opinion of the
DPRK, the pros outweigh the cons in the debate of whether or not to use genetically
modified foods. It is our opinion that in the position we are currently in we can not be
picky about the source of nutrition that our people are provided with.
The DPRK does hope that our opinions will count towards a final decision about
the use of Genetically Modified Foods. The benefits of these food products to our people
could be the difference between life and death to many children. It could provide our
Nation with enough food to move our malnourishment rates to below fifty percent, and
give the children of the DPRK a better hope for survival. While the effects of the
genetically Modified foods have not been fully established, it is clear that so far it has
done nothing but benefit the countries who are making use of it. Since the Western
Countries have so far denied us the aide that we need and cut off any other supplies, this
may be our last resort.