Anti-technology activists incessantly claim that
planting modern herbicide and pest-resistant biotech crop varieties
results in farmers using more pesticides. For example, the
thankfully failed
anti-science Oregon GMO labeling initiative asserted…
…genetically engineered, herbicide resistant crops have caused
527 million pounds of additional herbicides to be applied to the
nation’s farmland.
This activist disinformation has been rebutted by researchers
numerous times. The latest rebuttal is a study,”A
Meta-Analysis of the Impacts of Genetically Modified Crops,”
just published in the journal PLoS One. The study
was done by by two German researchers from the Department of
Agricultural Economics and Rural Development,
Georg-August-University of Goettingen. After analyzing 147 original
agronomic studies dealing with pesticide applications on biotech
crops, they report:
On average, GM technology has increased crop yields by 21%.
These yield increases are not due to higher genetic yield
potential, but to more effective pest control and thus lower crop
damage. At the same time, GM crops have reduced pesticide
quantity by 37% and pesticide cost by 39% (emphasis
added). The effect on the cost of production is not significant. GM
seeds are more expensive than non-GM seeds, but the additional seed
costs are compensated through savings in chemical and mechanical
pest control. Average profit gains for GM-adopting farmers are
69%.
More yield and lower pesticide applications means less potential
damage to the natural environment. And more profits for farmers
too! What’s not to like?!!
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