Viewpoint: Gene editing could unleash next Green Revolution, but ‘GMO fearmongers’ need to be convinced

Norman Borlaug b cad f b af ca d
Norman Borlaug, "Father of the Green Revolution." (Image: Micheline Pelletier/ Sygma/ Getty Images

The GMO fearmongers are able to take to Twitter and Facebook now because, like all of us, they have benefited from the Green Revolution. People have never been better fed or better clothed than they are today. It’s easy to take to Twitter and Facebook with a full belly.

The challenge today is that the Green Revolution must continue. All of the new tools, from genetically modified organisms to genomics to gene editing, must be further developed to continue the increase in crop production. The problem is the fearmongers have the completely mistaken notion that GMOs are unsafe while they fail to understand the benefits of genomics and gene editing.

Plant breeders today have the ingenuity and know-how to use GMOS, gene editing and genomics to breed better seed. It’s a painstaking and complicated process, but the tools are there and they need to be explored. The potential to create improved varieties with higher yields, disease and pest resistance and a multitude of other beneficial traits is almost limitless.

The challenge is to convince the fearmongers that the technology is not only safe but desperately needed.

Read full, original post: Would the Green Revolution have survived fearmongering social media?

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}
screenshot at  pm

Are pesticide residues on food something to worry about?

In 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring drew attention to pesticides and their possible dangers to humans, birds, mammals and the ...
glp menu logo outlined

Newsletter Subscription

* indicates required
Email Lists
glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.