ARTICLE: If You Care About The Future of Our Planet, Here's Why You Should Support GMOs
The following is an excerpt of an article by Michelle Miller via the Genetic Literacy Project, explaining why farmers use GMO seeds and how they are helpful to the environment.
There’s one topic in agriculture that I think is exceptionally riddled with myths, and that’s genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. We grow corn and soybeans and have been doing so for over 150 years as a family. We see firsthand the benefits of GMOs. Over 90 percent of farmers have been using this technology for decades.
Why do you suppose that is? No, it’s not because we are forced to. No, it’s not a conspiracy. No, we aren’t using more chemicals than ever before. These myths, repeatedly endlessly by critics of GMOs, are just not true. The reason why 90 percent of American farmers have embraced ag biotechnology is because it has substantially reduced our carbon footprint, while improving yields, farmer safety, and the environment at the same.
It’s brilliant technology, really. The term “GMO” covers a broad spectrum of benefits, but for our corn and soybean farm it breaks down to a few key ones:
- Much safer herbicide products to control weeds
- No-till farming, crop rotation, cover crops keep carbon in the soil and conserves organic matter which further protects the topsoil
- Practically eliminates the need for insecticides
Despite the fact that all three of these benefits are very important, in my opinion, and I think other farmers would agree, #3 has had the greatest impact on us from a genetic engineering standpoint. Eliminating insecticide spraying thanks to Bt technology, which enables a plant to express a natural pesticide that targets insects but is harmless to humans, has been a Godsend.
Read the article here.
