Sunday, November 16, 2014

GMO critic changes his mind

This guy is long-winded, to put it mildly, but it's a convincing account of the views of a published GMO critic who rethinks his position. Even if you don't agree, there are some interesting thoughts here.

I think he is a little harsh in his treatment of organic agriculture: he condemns it as 40-50% less productive than conventional agriculture, and notes that less productive methods mean that more land must be used to produce the same amount. While this is true, I think he overlooks the fact that chemical-intensive practices and repeated monocropping deplete the soil. That mostly means that it's important to rotate. Also it's important to remember that some varieties of GMO actually reduce the need for chemicals. Others don't, but Bt cotton is an example of a crop that requires fewer pesticides than other crops.