April, 14 2009, 01:08pm EDT
![Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)](https://assets.rbl.ms/32012677/origin.jpg)
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Emily Robinson, 312-578-1750 ext. 15
Genetic Engineering Has Failed to Significantly Boost US Crop Yields Despite Biotech Industry Claims, New Report Finds
Increases Over the Last Decade Due to Traditional Breeding and Conventional Agricultural Improvements
WASHINGTON
For years, the biotechnology industry has trumpeted that it will feed
the world, promising that its genetically engineered crops will produce
higher yields.
That
promise has proven to be empty, according to a new report by the Union
of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Despite 20 years of research and 13
years of commercialization, genetic engineering has failed to
significantly increase U.S. crop yields.
"The
biotech industry has spent billions on research and public relations
hype, but genetically engineered food and feed crops haven't enabled
American farmers to grow significantly more crops per acre of land,"
said Doug Gurian-Sherman, a biologist in the UCS Food and Environment
Program and author of the report. "In comparison, traditional breeding
continues to deliver better results."
The
report, "Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically
Engineered Crops," is the first to closely evaluate the overall effect
genetic engineering has had on crop yields in relation to other
agricultural technologies. It reviewed two dozen academic studies of
corn and soybeans, the two primary genetically engineered food and feed
crops grown in the United States.
Based on those studies, the UCS report concluded that genetically
engineering herbicide-tolerant soybeans and herbicide-tolerant corn has
not increased yields. Insect-resistant corn, meanwhile, has improved
yields only marginally. The increase in yields for both crops over the
last 13 years, the report found, was largely due to traditional
breeding or improvements in agricultural practices. (For the report, go
here.)
The UCS report comes at a time when food
price spikes and localized shortages worldwide have prompted calls to
boost agricultural productivity, or yield -- the amount of a crop
produced per unit of land over a specified amount of time.
Biotechnology companies maintain that genetic engineering is essential
to meeting this goal. Monsanto, for example, is currently running an
advertising campaign warning of an exploding world population and
claiming that its "advanced seeds . significantly increase crop
yields.." (For a pdf of the ad, go here.)
The UCS report debunks that claim, concluding that genetic engineering
is unlikely to play a significant role in increasing food production in
the foreseeable future.
The
biotechnology industry has been promising better yields since the
mid-1990s, but "Failure to Yield" documents that the industry has been
carrying out gene field trials to increase yields for 20 years without
significant results.
"After
more than 3,000 field trials, only two types of engineered genes are in
widespread use, and they haven't helped raise the ceiling on potential
yields," said Margaret Mellon, a microbiologist and director of UCS's
Food and Environment Program. "This record does not inspire confidence
in the future of the technology."
"Failure
to Yield" makes a critical distinction between potential -- or
intrinsic -- yield and operational yield, concepts that are often
conflated by the industry and misunderstood by others. Intrinsic yield
refers to a crop's ultimate production potential under the best
possible conditions. Operational yield refers to production levels
after losses due to pests, drought and other environmental factors.
The
study reviewed the intrinsic and operational yield achievements of the
three most common genetically altered food and feed crops in the United States: herbicide-tolerant soybeans, herbicide-tolerant corn and insect-resistant corn (known as Bt corn, after the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, whose genes enable the corn to resist several kinds of insects).
Herbicide-tolerant soybeans, herbicide-tolerant corn and Bt
corn have failed to increase intrinsic yields, the report found.
Herbicide-tolerant soybeans and herbicide-tolerant corn also have
failed to increase operational yields, compared with conventional
methods.
Meanwhile, the report found that Bt corn likely provides a marginal operational yield advantage of 3 to 4 percent over typical conventional practices. Since Bt
corn became commercially available in 1996, its yield advantage
averages out to a 0.2 to 0.3 percent yield increase per year. To put
that figure in context, overall U.S.
corn yields over the last several decades have annually averaged an
increase of approximately 1 percent, which is considerably more than
what Bt traits have provided.
In
addition to evaluating genetic engineering's record, "Failure to Yield"
considers the technology's potential role in increasing food production
over the next few decades. The report does not discount the possibility
of genetic engineering eventually contributing to increase crop yields.
It does, however, suggest that it makes little sense to support genetic
engineering at the expense of technologies that have proven to substantially increase yields, especially in many developing countries.
In addition, recent studies have shown that organic and similar farming
methods that minimize the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers
can more than double crop yields at little cost to poor farmers in such
developing regions as Sub-Saharan Africa.
The
report recommends that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state
agricultural agencies, and universities increase research and
development for proven approaches to boost crop yields. Those
approaches should include modern conventional plant breeding methods,
sustainable and organic farming, and other sophisticated farming
practices that do not require farmers to pay significant upfront costs.
The report also recommends that U.S. food aid organizations make these more promising and affordable alternatives available to farmers in developing countries.
"If
we are going to make headway in combating hunger due to overpopulation
and climate change, we will need to increase crop yields," said
Gurian-Sherman. "Traditional breeding outperforms genetic engineering
hands down."
The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world. UCS combines independent scientific research and citizen action to develop innovative, practical solutions and to secure responsible changes in government policy, corporate practices, and consumer choices.
LATEST NEWS
UN Chief Says Rich Countries 'Signing Away Our Future' With Fossil Fuel Development
"I must call out the flood of fossil fuel expansion we are seeing in some of the world's wealthiest countries," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said. "Countries must phaseout fossil fuels—fast and fairly."
Jul 26, 2024
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday criticized the world's wealthiest countries for expanding fossil fuel production, one day after an analysis in The Guardian showed that five Western countries are leading a global surge in oil and gas development.
Guterres' remarks came as part of a "call to action" on extreme heat at a press conference in New York, after record-setting world temperatures earlier in the week and a series of deadly heatwaves across the world this year.
Guterres, who has long been outspoken on the need for climate action, called extreme heat one of the "symptoms" of a "disease" that is the "addiction" to fossil fuels.
"I must call out the flood of fossil fuel expansion we are seeing in some of the world's wealthiest countries," he said nine minutes and 53 seconds into his remarks. "In signing such a surge of new oil and gas licenses, they are signing away our future. The leadership of those with the greatest capabilities and capacities is essential. Countries must phaseout fossil fuels—fast and fairly."
The U.N. chief's comments may have been based on Wednesday's findings that five Western countries—the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Norway—have significantly scaled up oil and gas licensing this year, despite their international climate commitments. The findings came from an analysis of industry data conducted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development and published in The Guardian.
The analysis found that the five countries together have licensed or plan to license projects in 2024 that will emit 11.9 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetimes. The news renewed discussions about whether countries such as the U.S., though they claim to be climate leaders, should be considered "petrostates"—a contemptuous term formerly reserved for countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Guterres has long been outspoken on the issue of fossil fuels. At the COP28 U.N. climate change summit in Dubai last year, he spoke forcefully about the need for phasing them out and meeting the 1.5°C target set in the Paris agreement.
"The 1.5°C limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels," he said. "Not reduce. Not abate. Phase out—with a clear timeframe aligned with 1.5°C."
The loophole-ridden deal that emerged from Dubai didn't match Guterres' ambitions, but did call for "transitioning away from fossil fuels."
His call to action on Thursday included a four-part plan for dealing with extreme heat: caring for the most vulnerable, protecting workers, boosting resilience, and limiting further temperature rise by phasing out fossil fuels and scaling up renewables.
Leaders across the board must wake up and step up their #ClimateAction.
That means governments – especially #G20 countries – as well as the private sector, cities and regions.
They must #ActNow as though our future depends on it – because it does.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) July 26, 2024
Guterres warned that 70% of the global workforce—over 2.4 billion people—is at substantial risk of experiencing extreme heat, and the situation is especially dire for workers in Africa and the Middle East. He called for strong laws to protect workers, which some countries are enacting. The Biden administration recently moved to set the first national workplace heat safety protections in the U.S.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Labour Ditches Tory Plan to Oppose ICC Request for Netanyahu Arrest Warrant
Now the United Kingdom's government must "stop selling Israel weapons," said one observer.
Jul 26, 2024
The United Kingdom's newly elected Labour government abandoned plans by its Tory predecessor to challenge the International Criminal Court's May application for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Under Conservative leadership, the U.K. joined the U.S., Germany, and other Israel allies in condemning the ICC prosecutor's application for arrest warrants against the top Israeli officials for alleged war crimes in Gaza, including "starvation of civilians as a method of warfare" and "extermination."
The ICC prosecutor also applied for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders over atrocities committed in Israel on October 7.
As The Financial Timesreported, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer "had until Friday to decide whether to make legal arguments to support questions raised by the previous Conservative government over the ICC's jurisdiction to issue warrants against Netanyahu and his defense minister."
A spokesperson for the Labour government said it would "not be pursuing this in line with our long-standing position" that "it's a matter for the courts to decide."
"Well done to the millions of people across the country who have made it clear that they refuse to be complicit in war crimes."
Humanitarians applauded the government's decision. Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns at Medical Aid for Palestinians, called Tory opposition to the proposed arrest warrants "a disgraceful attempt to delay justice."
"I hope the new government will now throw its full support behind the court and uphold any warrants issued," Talbot added.
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, also welcomed the move and urged the government to "stop selling Israel weapons." Between October 7 and May 31, the U.K. government issued more than 100 arms export licenses to Israel, according to official figures reported by The Guardian.
Reutersreported earlier this week that in documents released Tuesday, "judges granted permission to 18 states including the U.S., Germany, and South Africa to file written submissions to the ICC about its proposed arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant, and Hamas leaders.
"While there is no set deadline to rule on the prosecution request for arrest warrants," the news agency noted, "allowing dozens of legal arguments will slow the process by the three-judge panel deciding on the matter."
Former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, who won reelection to his Islington North seat as an Independent following his expulsion from the Labour Party, called the Starmer government's decision to ditch the Tories' opposition to the ICC arrest warrant requests "an important first step in respecting the universal application of international law."
"Well done to the millions of people across the country who have made it clear that they refuse to be complicit in war crimes," Corbyn added. "We will continue to demand an end to the massacre in Gaza, an end to all arms sales to Israel, and an end to the occupation of Palestine."
Keep ReadingShow Less
US Healthcare Workers Back From Gaza Tell Harris and Biden: 'End This Madness'
"Every day that we continue supplying weapons and munitions to Israel is another day that women are shredded by our bombs and children are murdered with our bullets."
Jul 26, 2024
As President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Thursday, dozens of American healthcare workers who recently volunteered in the Gaza Strip urged the U.S. leaders to do everything in their power to end Israel's assault on the enclave, citing the horrors they witnessed firsthand.
In an open letter addressed to Biden, Harris, and First Lady Jill Biden, 45 physicians, surgeons, and nurses wrote that "we wish you could see the nightmares that plague so many of us since we have returned: dreams of children maimed and mutilated by our weapons, and their inconsolable mothers begging us to save them."
"We wish you could hear the cries and screams our consciences will not let us forget," the letter reads. "We cannot believe that anyone would continue arming the country that is deliberately killing these children after seeing what we have seen."
The healthcare workers called on the Biden administration to "withhold military, economic, and diplomatic support from the state of Israel and to participate in an international arms embargo of both Israel and all Palestinian armed groups until a permanent cease-fire is established, and until good-faith negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians lead to a permanent resolution of the conflict."
"We are not politicians. We do not claim to have all the answers," they continued. "We are simply physicians and nurses who cannot remain silent about what we saw in Gaza. Every day that we continue supplying weapons and munitions to Israel is another day that women are shredded by our bombs and children are murdered with our bullets. President Biden and Vice President Harris, we urge you: End this madness now!"
This is an open letter addressed to @POTUS, @VP , and @FLOTUS signed by 45 American physicians and nurses, about what we saw while working in Gaza. Please feel free to distribute. A PDF can be downloaded from the link and/or QR code on page 1. pic.twitter.com/LHVvmeAFad
— Feroze Sidhwa (@FerozeSidhwa) July 25, 2024
The letter was released as Netanyahu, fresh off his widely condemned address to the U.S. Congress, met separately on Thursday with Biden and Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
In remarks following her meeting with Netanyahu, Harris said that "what has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating," pointing to "the images of dead children and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third, or fourth time."
"We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies," the vice president added. "We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent."
Harris said she told Netanyahu directly to "get this deal done"—referring to a cease-fire agreement with Hamas—but, as expected, she did not break with the administration on supplying arms to the Israeli military.
While there has been no obvious policy change from the administration now that Harris has taken over for Biden at the top of the Democratic Party's presidential ticket, Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft argued that the vice president "clearly broke with Biden on Israel in terms of rhetoric and tone."
Parsi also contended that there was "a substance shift."
"Biden has disingenuously claimed that Hamas blocked a cease-fire deal," Parsi wrote on social media. "By saying that she urged Netanyahu 'to clinch the deal,' Kamala pointed to the real obstacle."
BREAKING: VP Harris speaks after meeting with Israeli PM Netanyahu
Harris calling for an immediate cease-fire deal to free the hostages.
The VP saying she “will not be silent" about the suffering in Gaza, the "devastating" loss of life and the "dire" humanitarian crisis. pic.twitter.com/Fe5QPoOuFh
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 25, 2024
In their letter to Harris and Biden, the healthcare workers wrote that Israel "has directly targeted and deliberately devastated Gaza's entire healthcare system" and "targeted our colleagues in Gaza for death, disappearance, and torture." According to figures from the United Nations Human Rights Office, Israeli forces have killed one in every 40 healthcare workers in the Palestinian territory since October as diseases spread and the number of Gazans killed or wounded continues to grow by the hour.
The healthcare workers expressed the view that—based on available evidence and their experiences—"the death toll from this conflictis many times higher than what is reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health," which currently stands at over 39,100.
"We also believe this is probative evidence of widespread violations of American laws governing the use of American weapons abroad, and of international humanitarian law," they continued. "We cannot forget the scenes of unbearable cruelty directed at women and children that we witnessed ourselves."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular