Broken Promises

To begin with, relying on genetic modification as the solution to world hunger ignores the real root problem: hunger is caused by poverty and inequality. People are hungry because they don’t have enough money to buy food or enough land to grow it, and because of bad food distribution and poor infrastructure for farmers. The fact is, we already produce enough food to feed more than the world’s entire population—and we waste one-third of it.

If we dig even deeper, we find out that GM crops have actually broken many of the promises they came with. Twenty years after they were first introduced, we can see that GM crops have not increased crop yields or farmers’ incomes, and they have not been better for the environment.

GM crops have not increased yields or farmers’ incomes

So far, around the world, studies show that yields have not consistently increased with the introduction of GM crops. Although the US grows 40 percent of all the GM crops in the world, yields from soy and corn have not increased because of the introduction of GM herbicide-tolerant varieties.

In India, yields from GM insect-resistant cotton have not been consistent from one year to the next, or from one part of the country to another. Farmers in regions of India with low rainfall and marginal soils, for instance, have seen drastic crop failures.

When GM cotton fails, farmers suffer terribly. By August 2012, the Indian Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture concluded, “After the euphoria of a few initial years, [GM] Bt cotton cultivation has only added to the miseries of the small and marginal farmers.”

The effects of these GM cotton failures on small farmers was made worse by the fact that the seeds, which are patented, cost a lot more than conventional and traditional seeds. This makes it even harder for farmers to earn money from GM crops.

In India, a packet of GM cotton seeds can cost anywhere from three to eight times as much as the cost of conventional hybrid seed. Similarly, in Canada, GM seeds are more expensive than non-GM seed.

Many farmers around the world continue to grow food from ancient and traditional seed varieties that are already suited to local conditions and environmental stress. These seeds are more effective and less costly than GM seeds.

GM crops harm the environment

GM crops have also not held up to their promise to help the environment. In particular, GM crops have increased the use of chemical herbicides.

A well-known study by Charles Benbrook looked at US government data and found that GM herbicide-tolerant crops have increased herbicide use by 527 million lb (239 million kg) in the past 16 years in the US.

Overall, pesticide use in the US was 24 percent higher per acre on GM crops than it was on conventional fields. Similarly, in Argentina, glyphosate use increased from 8 million litres in 1995 to over 200 million litres by 2013.

The heavy use of Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicide called “Roundup,” in Canada and the US, has led to the emergence of “superweeds” that are resistant to glyphosate. There are now 28 weeds around the world that are glyphosate resistant; 14 of them are in the US, and four are in Canada.

As a response to glyphosate-resistant weeds, biotechnology companies Monsanto and Dow have developed GM crops that are tolerant to the older herbicides 2,4-D and dicamba. These GM crops will only make the problem worse.

In fact, the widespread use of GM 2,4-D-tolerant crops is projected to increase the use of 2,4-D by 50 percent. As is the case with many agricultural chemicals, exposure to 2,4-D has been linked to a number of serious health problems.

Rising herbicide use is a stark reminder that GM crops do not fit into sustainable, healthy farming. They are instead short-lived products that are creating new problems for farmers and the environment.

Unfulfilled promises

Genetically modified crops were launched with attractive promises that are still being repeated today. However, after 20 years, these promises remain unmet. Instead of helping to solve the problems of hunger and reduce pesticide use in farming, GM crops are making these problems worse.

Through our food choices we can support farmers who do not grow GM crops or use chemical herbicides. Their farms keep our food system diverse, sustainable, and healthy.

Learn more about CBAN’s ongoing projects

Find out more about CBAN’s new project, GMO Inquiry 2015, at gmoinquiry.ca and cban.ca. Read CBAN’s report, Will GM Crops Feed the World?, at cban.ca/feedingtheworld.