Genetically Modified Crops have been controversial among some people and groups who are unaware of the science involved and how it will affect them when they eat the crops. In 2014, 181.5 million hectares are planted with GMO crops in 28 countries. Half of the hectares are genetically modified soybeans, 30% is maize, 14% is cotton, and 5% is canola. The crops that are modified to be herbicide tolerant are alfalfa, canola, cotton, maize, soybean and sugar beet. Crops that are insect resistant are cotton, eggplants, maize, and poplar. Other crops are modified to be more nutritious, different colors, longer lasting, or drought resistant are canola, carnation, maize, papaya, petunia, potato, rose, soybean, squash, sugar cane, and tobacco. Crops can have several traits that are modified together to make the crop more resistant against a wider variety of herbicides and insecticides. The majority of GMO crops are only four crops which are soybeans, maize, cotton, and canola while the other crops are only grown in very small numbers comparatively and only encompass 1% of the GMO crops planted.
Category Archives: Issues and Controversies
Number of GMO Crops
There are about ten main crops that are genetically modified, that are grown and available in the United States, according to Time Magazine. These crops are corn, soybeans, potatoes, papaya, cotton, squash, canola, alfalfa, apples, and sugar beets. All of these crops have been deregulated and approved for production by the USDA, FDA, and in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency. Corn and soybeans are the most highly produced GMO crops, with thirty three different species of genetically modified corn and twenty different species of genetically modified soybeans. GMO corn is used for many different applications. Mostly the corn is used to feed livestock, however it is also used in processed foods in the form of cornstarch and high fructose corn syrup. A smaller amount of this corn is used for bio-fuel production. The soybeans are also used mostly for feed, but a large percentage is used for vegetable oil. About sixty percent of vegetable oil is soybean oil. Soybeans are also used in processed foods such as candy.
Source:
Johnson, David, and Siobhan O’Connor. “Genetically Modified Foods: What Is Grown and Eaten in the U.S.” Time, Time, 30 Apr. 2015, time.com/3840073/gmo-food-charts/.
The Only 10 GM Crops Grown
Genetically modified crops is a very highly opinionated topic for almost all consumers and producers. Some people are strongly pulled in either direction, with very few who fall in the middle as far as anti-GM or in support of GM crops. While some of these consumers are educated on what a GMO actually is and what crops are actually genetically modified, others are not educated and can easily fall victim to false information and advertising tricks.
There are in fact only 10 genetically modified crops grown and they are: cotton, soybeans, corn, squash, papaya, alfalfa, sugar beets, canola, potatoes, and apples. An uneducated consumer would probably disagree with the previous statement, but there are actually only 10 genetically modified crops. So when a customer goes into a grocery store and buys GMO free bananas, GMO free bread, and GMO free rice, although it is free of genetic modification, there was never a chance for it to be genetically modified because GM bananas, wheat, and rice are not a thing. This concept is heavily used for marketing tactics for many products. The misconception and lack of education on what is actually genetically modified and what is not, will continue to be the basis of many problems in the food & fiber industry.
GMO CROPS
The following is a list of crops that are genetically modified. Squash, Cotton, Soybean, Corn, Papaya, Alfalfa, Sugar beets, Canola, Potato, Apples are all genetically modified crops that we grow.
Genetically Modified Crops in America
According to the USDA, America grows and uses genetically modified varieties of corn, upland cotton, soybeans, alfalfa, canola, and sugar beets. These crops have been modified to be resistant to disease, pesticides, bad weather and other factors. Genetically modified crops are utilized to maximize yield and be as successful as possible in an environment full of challenges. Genetically modified crops were commercially introduced to the United States in 1996, and this agricultural advancement has grown since that time. Companies like Monsanto have developed and distributed genetically modified seeds for agricultural use. Many trusted research organizations have published articles on the environmental, economic, and social impact of genetically modified crops in America. GMO crops allow desirable traits of crops to be introduced and incorporated into the genetics of crops being grown. Research has been performed to test the food safety of GMO crops. There is a push to grow genetically modified crops for energy, food security, and environmental improvement purposes. Genetically modified crops continue to develop and the genetic changes made to these crops are beneficial to American agriculture.
Sites referenced:
https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/biotechnology/
GMO Crop List
Yesterday Dan Severson the New Castle County Extension Agent came in and talked to us about livestock production in Delaware. He left us with an assignment to find a list of all the GMO crops in the united states. According to GMOanswers.com these are the commercially available crops in the United States: alfalfa, apples, canola, corn, cotton, papaya, potatoes, soybeans, squash, and sugar beets. Take a look at this website there is a lot of information about why each crop has been modified and disproves many myths and misconceptions about GMO’s.
Mark Lynas~ GMO
Mark Lynas is an environmental expert, and he had given a speech at the Oxford Farming Conference on genetic modification of crops. Mr. Lynas discovered the science in which helped him become a better environmentalist. He had wrote his first book mainly on climate change. He found that as he dug deeper into his research he was finding his assumptions were wrong, he assumed GM was dangerous; he found that it was safer and more precise. GM is just moves a couple of genes where as conventional works in a trial and error way. Different critics pushed Lynas`s writing on the topic of GMO`s. GMO crops do not require/ need as many pesticides and tend to be more successful in hot and or dry environments. He stated that producers must identify challenges and adapt to them by working with GM technology. GMO crops help in protecting the environment by being able to produce an enormous amount of product with less land. Lynas finds that if we don’t continue to use GMO`s the world will more then likely run out of food because organic farmers won’t be able to keep up with certain demands of crops needed to be produced. Though GMO`s are making the yields much higher which provide minimal work area due to the increase of population. This video helped me understand GMO`s more clearly and understand that GMO`s are not bad for you.
Genetic Modification
Contrary to what many people think, not everything we eat has been genetically modified. In the US, the world leader in genetic engineering, only 9 crops have been genetically modified. These include majors grains, such as maize and soybeans, and other specialty fruits and fibers such as cotton, squash, papaya, canola, sugarbeet, alfalfa, and potatoes. While some of these crops are major feed components, there are plenty of alternative options. For that reason, organic markets are still completely viable despite the presence of genetically modified produce in the economy.
Dan Severson and and GMO’s
Following the topic of Livestock in which Dan spoke about, he gave us a homework topic. Our job as a student was to research and find out how many crops are actually made with GMO’s. As soon as we were given the task, I began to wonder, did he ask because there actually aren’t any crops made with GMOs? Or did he ask because in reality all crops were made with GMO’s? As soon as I got the chance I sat down to think about it for myself, and come to find out there are 10 crops in the United States that are grown using GMO’s. These crops consist of; corn, soybeans, cotton, potatoes, papaya, squash, canola, alfalfa, apples, and sugar beet. This came as a surprise to me, because even though I didn’t really know what to expect I was intrigued to find out that a lot of the crops grown locally and frequently in Delaware are grown using GMO’s. I am glad I was given this homework because it gave me a chance to dive into GMO’s which as a class we have talked about recently as well as going deeper into the make of the crops that are grown around me.
GM Crops – Dan Severson Lecture
Despite popular belief that GMOs are taking over the food industry within the United States, there are actually only ten crops that are approved to be genetically modified and produced within the country. These ten crops include corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, sugar beets, potatoes, papaya, squash, alfalfa, and apples. More than 90% of acreage dedicated to soybean, cotton, corn, canola and sugar beet is GMO, but most of these commodity crops aren’t sold directly to consumers anyhow, but to other disciplines such as the production of ethanol. While only ten crops are approved and produced by GMO, there are over 120 varieties of GM crops, and it can be difficult to find processed foods that don’t include a GMO ingredient. Furthermore, while many people are under the impression that these ten GM crops pose a threat to their health, it is actually the exact opposite; the most recently approved GM crop is the potato, which was approved due to its resistance in bruising and the fact that it produces less of a cancer-causing chemical than non-GM potatoes. A lot of these facts come as a surprise to many people who aren’t well-educated about genetically modified crops, including myself, but are vitally important to learn and understand.
Homework, GMO crops
If you are ever in a store and you think that you need to buy non-go think first before you buy. There is only a select few GMO crops in the world. So the next time you buy, think, “Is this actually a crop that could be GMO?” If not, you are paying too much money.
- Corn (field & sweet)
- Soybeans
- Cotton
- Canola
- Alfalfa
- Sugar Beets
- Papaya
- Squash
- Arctic Apple
- Innate Potato
- Aquabounty Salmon
Also remember, GMO’S ARE NOT BAD FOR YOU. Go to the website below to learn why these crops are GMO to begin with.
Mark Lynas and GMO’s
In the beginning of the video Mark Lynas went before the Oxford Farming Conference in January, 2013 to apologize for his association with anti-GMO movements. He originally believed that GMO’s were harmful and only helped companies make more money. Therefore he started a campaign, that later became very successful, to ban GMO’s in Europe, India, Africa and in Asia. However, once Mr. Lynas took the time to actually learn the science behind GMO’s he realized that they were beneficial and as he mentioned not harmful, as there are no documented cases. He learned that with the growing rate of today’s society there would never be enough land to use for agricultural purposes to feed everyone. This is where GMO’s come in by allowing the farmer to use them, it increases the yield of products on the same amount of land previously used. I support the use of GMO’s in agriculture today.
Mark Lynas at 2013 Oxford Farming Conference
During a 2013 conference on farming Mark Lynas spoke about GMOs. Mark Lynas originally was against GMOs and was publicly speaking against them. He thought they were run by large corporations and only benefited the rich. Mark said that this was not the case and that many small and local farmers benefited from GMOs. Mark also said that one of the reasons he did not support GMOs was because he thought they used more pesticides. He later found out that this was also not the case and genetically modified agriculture used less pesticides than non-modified types of agriculture. He has now switched his view points on this matter. He has done his research and truly believes that GMOs will play a crucial role in feeding a rapidly increasing human population. Mark stated that by 2050 there would be around 9.5 billion people on the earth and that we would have to increase our current agriculture production by over 100%. He also said that one of common myths people believe for why the human population is growing is because developing and poor nations are having a lot of babies. He went on to say that this not entirely true. The main reason the human population is rapidly growing is due to the increase in medical care. Today more and more kids are making past childhood and reproducing. Mark said that there are a around 2 billion children around the world who will be responsible for the 9.5 billion human population. Overall I found this video insightful and shining light on some myths that I thought were true.
Mark Lynas Video
Mark Lynas was a leader in getting GMOs banned in Europe because he had originally felt that GMO crops were unnatural and harmful. However, he has sinced changed his opinion, and realized the problem was not the crops but his viewpoint towards them. He had fallen victim to false perceptions regarding GMOs, such as that they increase the use of harmful chemicals, and only benefit big companies and not farmers. He also realized that in order to feed the 9.5 billion people expected to be on Earth in 2050, on about the same amount of land we have for farming today, we are going to have to use GMO technology. GMO technology will also help with limiting nitrogen use, which will help the environment. Basically, his perception was changed when he did his due diligence and started looking at the science regarding GMOs and then realized the problems that we are trying to solve with GMO technology. A lot of the negatives regarding GMOs that groups claim are backed by science are not. This is an example of the negative media and stereotypes that are presented about agriculture. By doing our due diligence and standing up for agriculture, we can begin to correct some of the false allegations and assumptions regarding GMOs. It is my opinion that GMOs are most likely necessary in order to produce enough food for the growing population.
Mark Lynas and Judging GMO’s
Have you ever drawn a conclusion on something you didn’t know anything about and it turned out to be completely wrong? Have you ever formed an opinion without researching facts? Many people are doing this with GMO’s. Mark Lynas did and even started a movement that made genetically modified foods and crops sound really bad. But once he started doing research to back up his opinion that GMO’s are bad he found that there was no evidence and in fact his conclusion changed, he now is a big advocate for GMO’s. The population is supposed to be 9-10 billion people by 2050 and the amount of food produced will have to increase by 70%. Without GMO’s it will be impossible to do this. GMO’s mean more food produced on less land with fewer resources. Mark Lynas is doing is best to correct misconceptions he started. GMO’s are the future of agriculture and without them the world population will not be able to be sustained.