Gauteng Smallholder December 2015-January 2016 | Page 15

NEWS

Get the skinny on GMOs

B

earing in mind that it is
compiled and written
by Greenpeace, which
has a pretty substantial antiGM axe to grind, one of the
more lucid and comprehensive explanations of genetic
modification (GM) and its
effect on foodstuffs, agriculture and food consumption is
contained in a 40-page ebook entitled Twenty Years of
Failure: Why GM crops have
failed to deliver on their
promises.

The book offers up seven
myths about GM and
elucidates their failures,
quoting extensively from the
two main producers of GM
seeds and agro-chemicals,
namely Syngenta and
Monsanto. They remind us
that twenty years ago, the first
genetically modified (GM)
crops were planted in the
USA, alongside dazzling
promises about this new
technology. Yet despite these
promises, GM crops are

grown on only 3% of
global agricultural land.
The report unpacks the
myths about GM crops
and then describes the
reality for each one.
Myth 1: GM crops can
feed the world
Reality: There are no
GM crops designed