Not much, but tend to think it is true, another area I need to investigate more fully. I can tell you that there are two farms in the family. I asked if GM seeds were used. Yes, but he didn't jump right on the bandwagon, read up on it. Says they are very effective in inhibiting the corn borer resulting in higher yields.
As to inhibiting germination, I believe that is true, need to look into that more thoroughly. Believe you have to buy fresh seed every year from the corporations, can't replant your own like farmers used to do, saving the best ears for next year's seed. There are some companies on the web that sell heirloom seeds, haven't seen anything about corn and soybeans, our primary crops here.
As a kid I noticed the odd color on a bag of soybeans in the barn, nibbled on one, didn't hurt me. I only asked why they were coated. That part wasn't answered, but was told they were seed for the following year and you shouldn't eat them.
I will ask more questions, but it's going to take awhile so probably won't be able to get back to you on that. In any case, if I decide I don't want to be party to it, I'm going to have a battle on my hands, and we're small potatoes compared to those who are now farming acreages numbering into the thousands.
I'm reasonably certain we don't use crop dusting planes, but have relied on heavy use of pesticides in the past. Farming methods are intensive now. We don't rotate crops as much as we used to, called monoculture, bulldozed most of the trees so the machinery can get into and out of the fields more efficiently. Plus I know the water table has dropped. Some fresher surface wells remain, but my father had to go really deep with our last well. The water stinks of sulphur (that rotten egg odor). The house reeks when laundry is being done, it's awful to drink; many use filters to make it so they can stand to drink it. It wasn't that way when I was young. I don't necesarily see a relationship with the water, have always depended on rain, do not irrigate, do use tile to drain fields. I'm 2nd gen off the land.
Here's what got me onto the other (it's just opinion, may or may not be a causal relationship): LAT opinion piece - The loss of billions of bees raises questions about our pesticide controls
I can tell you that many annual and perennial ornamental plants are relatively pest-free, problem with powdery mildew on some. I do save and replant seeds with mixed results, some didn't get pollinated and don't germinate for me. I've had some marigolds and alyssum going for 3-4 years now from which I save the seeds. Last year I grew a lot of tomatoes I got on ebay, wanted Big Boy, got cherry. Yield was good, and have many volunteers in that strip so know that they germinate ok following year, but the tomatoes dried up at the bottom and quit producing too early even though I used a huge soaker hose. Small producers can do their own pollinating by tickling each blossom, wouldn't be practical for large growers.
Please ping me if you find any more info wrt your post #33.
Many seeds are coated with inoculants, fungicides or pesticides for increased germination and survival when young.
You shouldn’t eat treated seed.
On soybeans, it could be any one of a half dozen things that the beans were treated for. One of the most common is root rot, aka “damping off” - often caused by Phytophthora or Pythium fungi.