Podcast: Biotechnology Is 'Greener' Than You Think

My name is Val Giddings. I am an expert in biotechnology visiting Ukraine at the invitation of your Minister of Economy. I'm here to talk with some of your officials about how biotechnology might be used in Ukraine to help produce more food at less cost and with fewer environmental impacts.

Growing crops improved through biotechnology is greener than you think!

What would you say about new varieties of agricultural crops that have had the following results?

• In European maize fields where insect pests have significantly reduced yields, new biotech varieties have increased yields by 10% and more;
• These yields have been accomplished without the use of any pest control sprays;
• These new biotech varieties have increased profitability for growers by 12-21%
• The safety of harvested grain has been significantly improved through dramatic reductions in the levels of cancer-causing fungal contamination;
• The carbon footprint of agriculture using these crop varieties has been significantly reduced.

This sounds like a kind of agriculture that is pretty friendly to the environment and beneficial to humans and livestock, doesn't it?

But wait, there is more. On a global scale these new varieties have produced striking results:

• In 2005 the direct farm income benefit was 5 billion US dollars;
• Since 1996 total global farm income benefits have been greater than 24 billion US dollars;
• The environmental impact of the production of these crops has reduced by 15%;
• The amount of active ingredient pesticide applied to agricultural crops has declined by about 7%;
• Cumulatively since 1996 the permanent carbon savings from reduced fossil fuel use in agricultural production has been the equivalent of removing 2.3 million cars from the road;
• The additional probable soil carbon sequestration gains have been the equivalent of removing ~3.6 million cars from the road.

This sounds like something people concerned for the environment should be pretty excited about, doesn't it?

OK, so these biotech crops are clearly good for the environment, but are they safe to eat?

The European Union has had this to say:

"Indeed, the use of more precise technology and the greater regulatory scrutiny probably make [GM foods] even safer than conventional plants and foods…the benefits of these plants and products for human health and the environment become increasingly clear."

This was in a European Commission Press Release on October 8, 2001, which announced the release of a 15-year study including 81 projects and costing 70M Euros, 400 research teams (ec.europa.eu/research/fp5/eag-gmo.html and ec.europa.eu/research/fp5/pdf/eag-gmo.pdf.)

These are some of the reasons that biotech crops have grown by 10% or more each and every year since their introduction, a rate of growth unprecedented in history, more rapid than anything ever seen before in any area of agriculture.

This is why more than 11 million farmers in 23 countries are growing biotech crops today, with 10 million of those farmers being small holders in developing countries.

Biotech crops deliver value at every stage from farm to fork. There is no greener way to produce food while treading gently on the land.

But don't take my word for it, go the web, Google "PG Economics" and see what resources they have there on the environmental and economic impacts of crops improved through biotechnology. Google "ISAAA" and see what they have to say about the rapid growth rates and the distribution of biotech crops being grown around the world.

Resources:

PG Economics - www.pgeconomics.co.uk/pdf/2007global%20impact%20G%20Brookes.pdf

ISAAA - www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/37/executivesummary/default.html