{"id":588,"date":"2016-10-31T23:15:59","date_gmt":"2016-10-31T22:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/?p=588"},"modified":"2016-10-31T23:15:59","modified_gmt":"2016-10-31T22:15:59","slug":"gmos-are-not-the-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/?p=588","title":{"rendered":"GMOs are NOT The Answer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Courtesy of: NYTimes – https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2016\/09\/16\/business\/GMO1\/GMO1-superJumbo.jpg<\/p><\/div>\n

THE PROMISES of GMOs<\/p>\n

The promise of genetic modification was twofold: by making crops immune to the effects of weedkillers and inherently resistant to many pests, GMOs were expected to:<\/p>\n

a) grow so robustly that they would become indispensable to feeding the world\u2019s growing population, and at the same time<\/p>\n

b) require fewer applications of sprayed pesticides<\/p>\n

Comparing results on two continents, using independent data as well as academic and industry research, shows how the technology has fallen short of the promise.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. UNIMPRESSIVE YIELDS<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Genetic modification in the United States and Canada has NOT accelerated increases in crop yields or led to an overall reduction in the use of chemical pesticides. An analysis by The Times using United Nations data showed that the United States and Canada have gained no discernible advantage in yields \u2014 food per acre \u2014 when measured against Western Europe. [1]<\/p>\n

    The Times compared Western Europe with Canada in terms of rapeseed production. Despite rejecting genetically modified crops, Western Europe has maintained a lead over Canada in rapeseed yields. While that is partly because different varieties are grown in the two regions, the trend lines in the relative yields have NOT shifted in Canada\u2019s favor since the introduction of G.M. crops, the data shows. [1]<\/p>\n

    For corn, The Times compared the United States with Western Europe. Over three decades, the trend lines between the two barely deviate. And sugar beets, a major source of sugar, have shown stronger yield growth recently in Western Europe than the United States. [1]<\/p>\n

    Jack Heinemann, a professor at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, did a pioneering 2013 study comparing trans-Atlantic yield trends, using United Nations data. Western Europe, he said, \u201chasn\u2019t been penalized in any way for not making genetic engineering one of its biotechnology choices.\u201d [1]<\/p>\n

    2. HIGH PESTICIDE USE<\/p>\n

    At the same time, herbicide use has increased in the United States, even as major crops like corn, soybeans and cotton have been converted to modified varieties. And the United States has fallen behind Europe\u2019s biggest producer, France, in reducing the overall use of pesticides, which includes both herbicides and insecticides. [1]<\/p>\n

    \u201cCurrently available G.M. crops would not lead to major yield gains in Europe,\u201d he said. And regarding herbicide-resistant crops in general: \u201cI don\u2019t consider this to be the miracle type of technology that we couldn\u2019t live without.\u201d, says Matin Qaim, a researcher at Georg-August-University of G\u00f6ttingen, Germany,<\/p>\n

    PRESENT & FUTURE<\/p>\n

    Newer genetically modified crops claim to do many things, such as protecting against crop diseases and making food more nutritious. We cannot believe these claims at face value, as previous claims have just NOT stacked up.<\/p>\n

    Shifting crucial crops like corn, soybeans, cotton and rapeseed almost entirely to genetically modified varieties in many parts of the world is a huge marketing opportunity but also a major threat to our health. [2]<\/p>\n

    REFERENCES<\/p>\n

    [1] Doubts About the Promised Bounty of Genetically Modified Crops<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

    [2] Why We Need to Avoid GMOs<\/a><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    THE PROMISES of GMOs The promise of genetic modification was twofold: by making crops immune to the effects of weedkillers and inherently resistant to many pests, GMOs were expected to: a) grow so robustly that they would become indispensable to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=588"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":593,"href":"https:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions\/593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pilatesfitness.co.uk\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}