The agrochemical industry often claim that GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are designed to help reduce the need for pesticides, as they are developed to be resistant to certain pests. There is no evidence to support this. In fact, it is quite the opposite: genetically modified organisms are driving up pesticide use. An unsurprising finding when we consider that it is the same agrochemical industry which produces both GMO seeds and pesticides.
The main goal of introducing GMO seeds is to increase corporate control of global agriculture. Most seeds these companies sell have ‘terminator technology’, meaning harvested seeds are sterile and cannot be saved to grow the following year. They also call for pesticides to create the right growing conditions for these non-heirloom seeds – more than 80% of the GMO crops grown worldwide are designed to tolerate increased herbicide use, not reduce pesticide use. GMOs lock in farmers’ dependency on these big corporations, leading to precarious situations, and in many cases, suicides.
The U.S. is the leading grower and exporter of GM crops. In 2009, 93% of U.S. GMO soybeans and 80% of GMO corn was grown from Monsanto’s (now Bayer) patented seeds. “RoundUp Ready” corn and soybeans were designed for use with Bayer-Monsanto’s weed killer, which mostly feed animals and fuels cars rather than people. Now that weeds have developed resistance to RoundUp, DowDuPont and Bayer-Monsanto are introducing GMO corn that includes tolerance of dicamba and 2,4-D, antiquated and dangerous herbicides prone to drift from where they’re applied on neighbouring non-GMO fields and into neighbouring communities.
Fortunately GMOs are not authorised in the UK for commercial purposes – let’s keep it that way!