By Vanessa Kummer, United Soybean Board Chair and a soybean farmer from Colfax, N.D.
Much is said about biotechnology in our food supply,
otherwise known as GMOs. It’s sometimes hard to tell fact from fiction. The
United Soybean Board wants to set the record straight regarding this important
technology, which enables us to grow more on less land, using fewer inputs and
conserving the soil better than conventional crops.
What is
biotechnology?
Simply put, biotechnology takes the DNA from one organism and transfers it into
another. For as long as humans have been raising crops, we have cross-bred
plants in order to improve them. We’ve done this by taking the pollen from one
plant and physically transferring the genes in the pollen to another plant in
order to make offspring that produce more seed or that can fight off diseases
and pests, for example. However, pollen contains many genes, some good and some
bad. So, late in the last century, we identified a way to accomplish gene
transfer in the lab. This made it possible to add only the good genes, or fix
bad ones already in the plant, in order to improve its usefulness to farmers
and mankind.
Is it safe?
Yes. To ensure they are safe, the U.S. government has established a rigorous
approval process for biotech products that includes the Food and Drug
Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Moreover, ever since the first biotech crop hit the market in
1996, about 1 billion acres of U.S. farmland have been planted to biotech crops
and trillions of pounds of U.S. soybeans and corn have been consumed worldwide,
all with no credible reports of harm to human health. In addition, these
organizations have come out in support of biotech foods:
· American Medical Association
· U.S. National Academy of Science
· UN Food and Agriculture Organization
· World Health Organization
· International Council for Science
· British Medical Association
Why is it important to know about the safety of biotech crops?
Some have questioned the safety of biotech crops. That is because there are people, some of whom are even from the academic world, who claim that research has been done that questions biotech’s safety. But it’s important to know that in order for any research to be credible, it needs to be reviewed by the authors’ peers and replicated in their labs. No such “peer-reviewed” research has proven GMOs to be unsafe. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true: Peer-reviewed research shows that GMOs are safe.
About USB: The 69 farmer-directors of USB oversee the investments of the soy checkoff to maximize profit opportunities for all U.S. soybean farmers. These volunteers invest and leverage checkoff funds to increase the value of U.S. soy meal and oil, to ensure U.S. soybean farmers and their customers have the freedom and infrastructure to operate, and to meet the needs of U.S. soy’s customers. As stipulated in the federal Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soy checkoff.
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