ARTICLE: Are There Environmental and Economic Benefits to GMO Crops?

The following is an excerpt of a blog post by Nicholas Staropoli via the Genetic Literacy Project about the economic and environmental benefits of GMOs.

Global benefits for genetically modified crops have reached $150 billion since the crops were first planted, according to a report published by PG Economics LTD.

The report comes on the heels of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) which also noted that genetically modified crops offered substantial economic and environmental benefits. This latest report finds that the majority of the economic benefits for farmers from GM crops were derived from higher yields and extra production, with countries in the developing world seeing the most benefits. The report’s findings are not limited to economics—it also finds substantial environmental benefits from using genetically engineered crops.

PG economics is a UK based advising and consultancy agency for agriculture and other natural resource-based industries. Its clients include both public and private sector entities including biotech companies, farmers organizations, the UK government and the European Commission. This is its 11th report on the global economic and environmental impact of GM crops, which compiled data from 1996 to 2014. The report’s findings are based largely on scientific, economic, and environmental data published in peer-reviewed journals and the report itself will be published in two parts in the peer-reviewed journal GM Crops.

Read the full article here.