A New York Times investigation challenges the long-held belief that genetically modified (GM) crops have significantly boosted crop yields and reduced pesticide use. The study compares the performance of GM crops in the US and Canada to those in Western Europe, revealing a lack of substantial yield advantage.
The analysis uses United Nations data and findings from the National Academy of Sciences, which indicated little evidence to suggest GM crops in the US yielded greater gains than conventional crops. This challenges the initial promise of GM technology: increased yields and reduced pesticide reliance due to pest resistance and herbicide tolerance.
The article highlights the contrasting approaches to GM crops in North America and Europe, where the technology was largely rejected. This difference allows for a comparative analysis of agricultural outcomes.
The article questions whether the potential of GM technology has been fully realized, given the lack of demonstrable yield increases and pesticide reduction in North America, areas where GM crop adoption has been widespread.
LONDON — The controversy over genetically modified crops has long focused on largely unsubstantiated fears that they are unsafe to eat.
But an extensive examination by The New York Times indicates that the debate has missed a more basic problem — genetic modification in the United States and Canada has not accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides.
The promise of genetic modification was twofold: By making crops immune to the effects of weedkillers and inherently resistant to many pests, they would grow so robustly that they would become indispensable to feeding the world’s growing population, while also requiring fewer applications of sprayed pesticides.
Twenty years ago, Europe largely rejected genetic modification at the same time the United States and Canada were embracing it. Comparing results on the two continents, using independent data as well as academic and industry research, shows how the technology has fallen short of the promise.
An analysis by The Times using United Nations data showed that the United States and Canada have gained no discernible advantage in yields — food per acre — when measured against Western Europe, a region with comparably modernized agricultural producers like France and Germany. Also, a recent National Academy of Sciences report found that “there was little evidence” that the introduction of genetically modified crops in the United States had led to yield gains beyond those seen in conventional crops.
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