‘We are those farmers’: Why you shouldn’t villainize farmers who use GMOs—or the food they grow

[Editor’s note: Kate Lambert and her husband grow corn and soybeans in Brookfield, Mo.]

We are those farmers they want you to fear. We are the big farmers who use GMOs, chemicals and produce food for grocery stores.

We use GMOs by choice to help us fight drought, erosion, pests and fungus. GMOs leave a smaller footprint and help us be more responsible stewards of our land. We proudly buy and consumes products grown with GMO ingredients because we understand what they are, how they help and the science that has proven them safe for over 20 years.

We are the farmers who use chemicals carefully and in the correct amounts to manage risk and our environment and to provide you a safe, reliable food source. We often rely on modern chemicals that have been developed to be more effective and less toxic than chemicals used decades ago.

But we are also the farmers who use GMOs and other technology to reduce our chemical use as much possible. Not because the chemicals we use aren’t safe, but because they are expensive and require extra trips across the fields.

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We are those farmers, but it is not our story. We are not scary, and neither is the food we are raising.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: We are those big, GMO farmers