In my discussions about GMOs, I’ve come to the realization that many of the issues that are raised are not about GMOs at all, rather, are about modern agriculture. Of course, GMOs should be part of the discussion because these crops are an important component of our food, but it’s disingenuous to believe that non-GMO and/or organic farming don’t cause the same problems and these forms of farming shouldn’t be part of the conversation.
Here we go: BioChica’s List of “Agricultural Issues that are Often Blamed on GMOs”. It would be awesome if I could have presented this with a Family Feud animation… Let’s do it Jeopardy-style!!
1) Q: This issue is often attributed to GMOs, when critics state that farmers shouldn’t be forced to buy seeds. A: What are patented seeds/crops?
As discussed previously, many plants are patented, including decorative plants. Plants generated through traditional methods, including mutagenesis, take years of research to produce and breed, and patents are the only way to safeguard those investments. The author of this Huffington Post article interviewed several farmers and asked them about their seed choice, and the overall conclusion is that farmers can select what they’d like and actually have a lot of options before them, many of which are from companies such as Dow, Monsanto, and Syngenta. If farmers are choosing to grow patented crops, perhaps it’s because they like the products (see this excellent post from The Farmer’s Life on this topic. This article from GLP, written by a farmer from Iowa, walks readers through the decision process of selecting a seed).
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2) Q: This issue is often attributed to GMOs, when critics state that GMOs should be labeled so that consumers can avoid harmful toxins…
Read full, original article: Jeopardy Category: “Things that are often blamed on GMOs, but are much broader in scope”
