If you are interested in the debate over GMOs – and it seems like most everyone today is – this article on the ABC Research Laboratories blog is essential reading. It reports on a presentation made by Dr. Rob Fraley, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Monsanto, on the benefits of genetically modified food technology.
In the article, Fraley encourages those in the food science community to be “evangelical” about the solid science behind GMOs. He expresses regret over not engaging consumers about the technology before the debate got hijacked by activists.
Now, I’m one who believes everyone should maintain a healthy skepticism of corporate interests, and a cursory glance reveals that ABC Research Laboratories is a fairly pro-GMO organization. However, Fraley does make some excellent points.
In the article, Fraley encourages those in the food science community to be “evangelical” about the solid science behind GMOs. He expresses regret over not engaging consumers about the technology before the debate got hijacked by activists.
Now, I’m one who believes everyone should maintain a healthy skepticism of corporate interests, and a cursory glance reveals that ABC Research Laboratories is a fairly pro-GMO organization. However, Fraley does make some excellent points.
- GMOs improve crop yields. “By 2050, the world will reach a population of 9.5 billion people. The demand for food between that time and now will have doubled,” says Fraley. With less available farm land available and consumer demand skyrocketing, GMOs help get more from existing farmland. For example, in the 1950s, an acre of corn yielded 75 bushels while today that yield is closer to 175. He expects that number to double or triple in the near future.
- More food, less land. An outcome of this efficient use of farm land will be the ability to grow enough food to sustain the human race using far less land, he says. “By 2060 150 million hectares of agricultural land can be restored to nature. That’s a land mass 10 times the size of the state of Iowa.”
- Less pesticide use. Use of GM crops has lowered the need for pesticide use by 37% globally, says Fraley, in the process lowering pesticide residues and benefitting growers of all sizes with fewer man-hours to bring a crop to yield.
- They’re a tool against climate change. Even micro-changes in temperature introduce a host of challenges to the growing of crops. GM technology can help fight a number of these roadblocks, including changes in weed pressure, increases in crop disease and the breeding and reach of insects.