“Yes, farmers were so much better off before they had access to all those pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and so on.”
The point is not about the use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or even fertilizers in general. There are legitimate users for them without GM seeds. So that’s not the issue.
But, GM modified crops are tied to - designed to work with - specific pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and/or fertilizers, and the patent owner of the GM seend is usually the manufacturer of the specific pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and/or fertilizers the GM seed was designed for.
That business and agro-industrial financial model, tying the farmer’s use of a certain seed to the need for the farmer to also be using specific additional agro-industrial products - not a real-world food shortage, is what GM seeds are all about.
The world has food surpluses, with food distribution issues, issues of disruption of local food production, issues of massive taxpayer subsidized food production, issues of domestic crop protectionism and other food issues, but not a world food shortage issue for which GM seeds are the solution.
So you admit that using a Round Up resistant seed is a good thing to do when using Round Up as an herbicide?
GM modified crops are tied to - designed to work with - specific pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and/or fertilizers, and the patent owner of the GM seed is usually the manufacturer of the specific pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and/or fertilizers the GM seed was designed for.
You realize, don't you, that there's a lot of genetic engineering going on out there that has nothing to do with any specific pesticide, herbicide, fungicide or fertilizer a particular company may also manufacture?
That business and agro-industrial financial model, tying the farmer’s use of a certain seed to the need for the farmer to also be using specific additional agro-industrial products...
What agro-industrial financial model was it that used antimicrobial peptides from insect physiology to create a near immunity to late blight in potatoes? What other product were the researchers of this solution merchandising? What else is the company that commercialized this process selling? We use knocking out genes to make plants more resistant to fungal infections. I've yet to see any ties to specific fungicides used by this technology. But even if there are, so what? The end result is greater yields, lower food costs and more profitable farmers.
GM crops are now being used to benefit consumers rather than just producers. Companies like DuPont and Monsanto are bioengineering crops specifically for nutrition purposes. They will be commercializing soybeans that are high in oleic acid and that eliminate trans fats. These varieties would also include high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Imagine a stable oil that doesn't require hydrogenation and is high in omega-3's. How will Monsanto and DuPont tie this breakthrough technology with specific pesticides, herbicides and fungicides? They won't.
The world has food surpluses, with food distribution issues, issues of disruption of local food production, issues of massive taxpayer subsidized food production, issues of domestic crop protectionism and other food issues, but not a world food shortage issue for which GM seeds are the solution/
If the world has food surpluses, why do commodity prices continue to spike? The fact is, as China and India move hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, they will want greater variety in food choices that will result in huge demands on our production capabilities. Most of the earth's human food supply comes from just 15 crop species and 8 livestock species. GM technology will absolutely be required to meet that demand. The Luddites of the EU can't see this, and unfortunately, many Americans are blind too.
Thanks to an American hero named Norman Borlaug, food for the most part is plentiful in the world today. Borlaug saved a billion people from starving because his genetic engineering created disease resistant plants that produced exponential increases in yields. He had to deal with the same challenges we face today with distribution problems, corrupt and tyrannical governments, protectionism and scientific illiterates. He wrote extensively about those problems and I'd argue that he faced greater challenges in that area than we do today.
GM is a far cry from being only about food shortages. Anyone who believes that hasn't kept up with technology over the past 40 years.