Source: GENETIC LITERACY PROJECT 4/30/18


This is the first in a three-part series making the case that the development of biotech traits for insect resistance and herbicide tolerance are the most substantial innovations in sustainable agriculture in the last three decades. Here, I lay out the context in which I believe they should be assessed relative to other innovations competing for the crown. In part two, I'll lay out the data and evidence of their overall environmental impacts. And in part three, I'll make my closing argument after looking at the impacts on Argentina, China, India, Pakistan and South Africa.

If you haven’t watched the new documentary Well Fed yet, I highly recommend it. Dutch film-maker Karsten de Vreugd has standard issue lefty/urban attitudes about organic and pesticides and he and his friends think GMOs are a bad idea. Except for one friend, his best friend. Hidde Boersma is a science journalist with a PhD in molecular biology who challenges de Vreugd to rethink his views. The film follows them around the world as they seek a balanced look at the issue, with Boersma doing a fantastic job of making the science of genetics …

For more of this story, click here.