I was in college when genetically modified crop were introduced . I was pay back an ag stage ( not sustainable ag — those did n’t exist then ) , and I amply buy in to the musical theme thatGMOswere going to feed the humankind . Higher yields , few inputs , drouth and pest opposition — they were a miracle of innovative skill !
Fast - forward 10 long time , I was living in industrial - farming rural area , and a crop - smock plane flew low over my farm while I was riding my gymnastic horse , set to spray the farm next door . I started think about the chemical that was in that plane , the crops it was going to handle and my life in the middle of this landscape painting . That was the showtime of my track toward GM - crop skepticism .
As someone who is n’t wholly anti - GMO but who is against the environmental damage that ’s because of GMOs , there are division of this theme that are hard to say because they do n’t fit into what I have come to conceive . There are also part that sing exactly what I ’ve been saying all along . Either way , it ’s good for me — for us — to register a summary of 20 - plus age of GMO data evaluation . In case you do n’t want to interpret the whole 407 - Thomas Nelson Page paper , here are six thing you may have been tell or believed about GMOs that the NAS read are wrong .
Myth 1: GM Crops Have Higher Yields
NAS says : The research worker found that craw yields have increased since the introduction of GM seeds , but they ca n’t pin that finding on the GM harvest themselves . Conventional plant - breeding technique have been improving during the past 20 years , as well , and there ’s no evidence to say that it ’s the genetic modifications rather than the improved plant breeding that have induce the yield bump .
Myth 2: GM Crops Are Responsible For A Lack Of Crop Rotation & Diversity
NAS says : The NAS written report says crop rotation and crop variety has go down in the Midwest U.S. , but it could be because commodity - crop price prescribe planting decisions rather than because of the availability of or pressure to plant GM seeded player . The report also says the figure of craw change in use around the Earth has decline significantly in the past century , but much of this loss of biodiversity take stead before GM seeds were available .
Myth 3:BtIn GM Crops Has Reduced Insect Biodiversity
NAS say : NAS ’s review of research really found that GM crops with aBacillus thuringiensistrait resulted in higher insect biodiversity than crops that are spray with a pesticide . The use ofBtcrops has result in regional declivity in pest - dirt ball species . Also , the usance ofBtcrops has reduced the crop-dusting of pesticide on those fields .
Myth 4: GM Crops Allow For Increased No-till Planting, Thus Reducing Erosion & Improving Soil Tilth
NAS aver : Whileno - tilland reduced - till practices have increased over the past 20 years , research worker found no direct correlation between the introduction of GM crop and no - till ’s increase .
Myth 5: Livestock Fed GM Grains Aren’t As Healthy
NAS says : NAS researchers look at observational data and long - term datum on the wellness and feed transition of livestock from before and after the creation of GM provender and found no overall difference .
Myth 6: GM Foods Cause Autism In Children
NAS say : The patterns of fry with autism spectrum disorder is too like in the U.S. and United Kingdom to pin the fault on GMOs . ( In the U.S. , GMOs are a common part of the dieting ; in the U.K. , they are not . )
The findings go on for hundreds of page , address some very common questions about and protest to GM crops . Reading this whole report card is probably inordinate , but you might look at thesummary of findingsto peck out and read about other exit that are most crucial to you .
