Genetically Modified Crops Reach 9 Percent of Global Crop Production
December 9, 2008 · Print This Article
Frankencrops reached 9 percent of global primary crop production in 2007, according to Worldwatch Institute estimates published in the latest Vital Signs Update. The United States is still the leader in producing GMO crops, accounting for half of the global total.
From the Environmental News Network:
“GM crops are definitely not a silver bullet,” said Alice McKeown, a researcher for the Worldwatch Institute. “They sound good on paper, but we have yet to see glowing results.”
Even as GM crop area expands, tensions are building. The European Union is expected to offer new guidance on the crops by the end of the year. Meanwhile, a new scientific study funded by the Austrian government suggests that a popular variety of GM corn reduces fertility in mice, raising questions about the technology’s safety.
Genetically modified crops are simply not the answer to poverty and food production problems. There is no evidence to support the claim that they are. We are already spraying crops with tons of chemicals that are altering the earth and our bodies – playing Dr. Frankenstein with them seems like an incredibly misguided approach.
Link [Environmental News Network]
Photo credit: Old American Century
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Well, I guess not every article can be insightful…
The biggest problems with genetically modified foods are related to inadequacies in the patent system. Everything else is uninformed fear mongering.
The best summary of GE crops was on an episode of Penn & Teller’s Bullshit!, if you want the reader’s digest version of why.
“Genetically modified crops are simply not the answer to poverty and food production problems. There is no evidence to support the claim that they are. ” Except the hundreds of millions of people with food to eat, of course! Also, the following line that compares the use of chemicals makes no sense. These are two separate and distinct issues. There is no connection.
AAAaaanyway, you know I love you guys, but when I saw this article in my RSS reader, I couldn’t get to sleep without calling bullshit on people eating food that’s never been shown harmful, and saves millions from starvation. But that’s just me.
Oh, and GE crops often will have a lower carbon footprint per person fed due to higher outputs of food per acre. They also are often bred to rely on FEWER chemicals, which often end up mucking up bodies of water downstream.
There are thousands of environmental reasons to support GE crops, in addition to the tens of millions of humanitarian reasons that are alive today because they’re not crawling across a desert toward a UN food camp.
And for the record, I’m in favor of GE crops for food. Ethanol for fuel is stupid, as corn is such a taxing crop to grow, and it’s still a hydrocarbon–as in produces CO2 when burned.
Ok, now I can go to sleep. Cheers and good night!
Sorry Roy, but I’ve got to heartily disagree with you there. Genetically modified food is risky and unproven, especially since the true effects of tinkering with the DNA of plants may not be known for many years down the line. Proponents of GMOs have yet to prove that they won’t harm human health and the environment.
I wasn’t suggesting that chemicals used on food are tied to genetic engineering, I was comparing the two as unnatural and potentially harmful alterations.
GMOs just haven’t been tested well enough to start introducing them into the world food supply.
http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/pusztai.html
And, companies like Monsanto have fooled poor farmers in countries like India into testing genetically engineered crops with devastating results: http://tinyurl.com/5jyg6k
Everyone wants to believe that we will eventually solve the hunger crisis around the world. But, we need to do it responsibly.