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Thinking Practically About The GMO Debate
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are one of the most divisive topics in public discourse today. There’s a weird problem with the debate overall though. Most people — on both sides of the debate — don’t really know what they’re talking about.
Seemingly everyone has an opinion on GMOs, usually revolving around the impact on the environment and health. Those opinions run the gamut from “GMOs are going to destroy the planet” to “GMOs are the only thing that can save the planet.”
But here’s the thing. Only a tiny fraction of the population actually grows GMO crops on a commercial scale — the farmers. Regardless of what the scientists or the environmental activists say, only the farmers have the pragmatic experience necessary to fully appreciate the transformation that the introduction of GMOs heralded.
I am well positioned to perceive the major gaps in the contemporary public discourse around the GMO debate. My family has been farming on a commercial scale in Ohio for six generations. We currently operate close to 2,000 acres of farmland, all of which is used to produce GMO corn and soybeans.
The advent of GMO corn and soybeans unquestionably reduced the environmental impact of our operation, and that of basically all large-scale corn and soy operations that embraced GMO technology.
