Controversy surrounds the use of Genetically Modified organisms (GMOs): whether the process of developing GMOs should be allowed, and if so, how they should be labeled. Efforts by activist groups have caused food associated with GMOs to carry a stigma, but farmers across the nation are fighting to continue to grow GMO crops and maximize their yield. In the 1970’s, GMOs were credited for assisting in the attempt to defeat world hunger and had a positive image. However, there has been a recent trend toward political and consumer resistance of food items that contains GMOs. A prediction of an abrupt population increase, combined with sudden climate changes, present further complications for world hunger, and make GMOs even more essential in today’s society. Additionally, farmers must now consider certain potential legal liabilities when buying seed, planting crops, and marketing their crops. This thesis will examine United States federal and state law to review how courts have ruled on tort claims in order to determine the potential and future liabilities that farmers producing GMO crops might face. This thesis will also examine the regulations by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the federal laws they must comply with to determine if they need to be increased or if they are sufficient. Scientific studies will be used to assess the health risks associated with the consumption of GMOs and the impact they have on the environment. This thesis will also examine the First Amendment to determine how GMO foods should be labeled, so as to not interfere with consumers’ right to know if their food was genetically modified. Also, it will look at the impact labeling may have on the price of food in the United States, if mandated. Lastly, in order to understand the role that GMOs might play in the future with an increasing population, this thesis will review the work of Dr. Borlaug and how the implementation of GMOs assisted in alleviating a hunger crises in the 1970’s when the supply of food could not meet the demand.

Even if they do not realize it, readers are perpetually in a condition that is strikingly similar to that of the Good Samaritan. Right now they have access to a vast network of communication that both enhances their senses and increases their sphere of influence. They can, for example, sit down at a computer and click on a certain combination of "sites" and the result will be that, in two weeks (or sooner), a DVD will arrive on their doorstep. Or, they can choose another combination, and the result will be that, in about two weeks (or less), a child will be saved from starvation and dehydration in some distant and destitute nation. Like the Good Samaritan, a reader of this thesis can see the desperate need of others and they have the ability to affect their condition. This perpetual Good Samaritan condition is directly a result of the recent changes the world has undergone as a result of technological advancement. This thesis is an exploration of the ethical implications of the potential perpetual good Samaritan. I will argue that (1) affluent individuals are able to affect positively the global poor and that they have a moral obligation to do so, (2) that this moral obligation is limited insofar as fulfilling the obligation requires a moral agent to sacrifice something of substantial significance (i.e., something that would cause a long term decrease in happiness), and (3) fulfilling this obligation requires specific actions on political, social, and individual levels.

The study focused on an evaluation of the impact of food aid on food security in the area of Ngabu in the southern part of Malawi. An evaluation was needed to find out whether the food aid approach to food insecurity was the one best suited to Ngabu and whether the government's approach had produced the intended results. This study showed that food aid, when timely used, has helped to raise the dietary status and nutrition and consumption of many households in Ngabu in times of natural disaster. Food aid, however, has had a negative impact on food security by creating laziness, food aid dependency and low food production since the source of food it offers is easier to come by than that by production. The impact of food aid on the markets of Ngabu, however, has been minimal. / Development Studies / M.Admin. (Development Studies)

The study focused on an evaluation of the impact of food aid on food security in the area of Ngabu in the southern part of Malawi. An evaluation was needed to find out whether the food aid approach to food insecurity was the one best suited to Ngabu and whether the government's approach had produced the intended results. This study showed that food aid, when timely used, has helped to raise the dietary status and nutrition and consumption of many households in Ngabu in times of natural disaster. Food aid, however, has had a negative impact on food security by creating laziness, food aid dependency and low food production since the source of food it offers is easier to come by than that by production. The impact of food aid on the markets of Ngabu, however, has been minimal. / Development Studies / M.Admin. (Development Studies)