Chapter 18. Chapter 18: Agriculture

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There are a number of reasons. First is that crops were successfully modified before there was any public opposition to them. By the time animals were successfully modified, there was sufficient negative publicity to slow their approval. There is probably also an emotional component to this. It is perhaps less appealing to think of a GMO animal since we are animals. Furthermore, the source of the genes can cause negative reactions. For example, the omega-3 gene added to pigs was found in a roundworm, a non-parasitic roundworm to be true, but still a little distasteful to consider.

There could be any of the already-mentioned reasons that people are opposed to GMOs, but there is also the idea that the effort should be to provide a variety of crops for the people in these regions rather than just "fixing" the rice they already have. Sweet potatoes, for example, grow well in most of the climates in which rice will grow and have the highest vitamin-A content of any vegetable.

1) Growing a monoculture crop leads to increased pest damage since they come to rely on a steady food source. It also increases the chance that a pathogen could cause widespread damage since there is no genetic variety. Finally, since the crops are always pulling the same nutrients out of the soil each year, monocultures can deplete the soil’s nutrients. Solution: Rotate your crops and/or use strip planting.

2) If the terrain is hilly and crops are planted in straight rows, there is an increased chance of erosion. Solution: Contour farming is a better way to prevent erosion.

3) Synthetic fertilizers can run off into surface water, causing eutrophication, or seep into groundwater, contaminating it. The negative side of the increased plant growth is that the fertilized plants will remove other micronutrients from the soil at an unsustainable rate. Solution: Plant a nitrogen-fixing cover crop and combine that with reduced-tillage farming for greater effect. (This is just one example of a solution.)

4) Current rates of crop irrigation are unsustainable. Solution: Reduced-tillage farming, cover crops, and choosing crops adapted for the local climate can all reduce water demands.

5) Pesticide use can also kill beneficial organisms, and its effect on the ecosystem is unknown. Solution: Crop rotation and strip planting can help interrupt pest life cycles. There are many biocontrols available to combat pests, such as lady bugs, which are the natural predators of aphids, insects that suck the sap out of crops, decreasing their fitness.

6) Raising cattle on corn-based feed uses excess resources, creates eutrophying waste, and can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Solution: Raising the cattle on grass reduces the chance of harmful antibiotic-resistant bacterial growth, the number of food resources being diverted from human consumption, the amounts of water and fossil fuels needed for operations, and the amount of waste produced (since it is used to fertilize the grass).