GM Crops Work Again

The most ridiculous part about rabid opposition to genetically modified crops (other than the sci-fi notion that eating them will somehow cause freakish genetic disorders) is the fact that GM opponents often fight in the name of protecting the developing world. Because the companies that create certain modified strains of plant can patent those strains, people argue that this would create a situation where local farmers are driven out of business and people will starve to death due to high food prices. But the opposite is true. For one thing, farmers who purchase and use GM crops see a much higher yield for much less work. This means more money in their pockets, more money in the GM company’s Caribbean tax shelters, and more food in poor people’s stomachs at a much lower cost. It’s a win-win-win. And you can throw another win on the pile, since scientists at UC Davis have created a new strain of rice that is resistant to flooding. While rice is grown in flooded fields, uncontrollable weather conditions often cause the water levels to rise—submerging and killing the plants. This type of flooding destroys enough rice every year to feed thirty million people. That’s thirty million people who won’t necessarily have to go hungry thanks to the advent of this particular GM crop. Win-win-win-win. More winning here.