GMO Answers is a treasure trove of information that can help you make an informed decisions about your food. This question was asked by a concerned citizen:
"How would the ancestors of GM farmers feel about the growers spraying their crops with pounds of pesticides and herbicides just to yield more product and therefore profit?
Mary Mertz, a farmer from Kansas, responded:
When my children were little, I had to watch them suffer through chicken pox. It was very difficult. When I was a child, my parents almost lost me to a severe case of the measles. I share this because advancements in medicine have reduced health issues tremendously. If vaccinated, kids don’t need to experience these diseases anymore. The same goes for biotechnology and the remarkable advancements it has introduced to farming through the generations. Using pesticides and herbicides has always been about growing the best and healthiest crops possible. Science leads the way.
I believe our ancestors would be proud of how we are facing the future. We have been able to grow and maintain the land in our care for over 100 years. Embracing the innovations that have been introduced to help keep America’s food and fiber industry viable is important to us all. If my family’s ancestors were here today, I know that they would be extremely impressed by both the technological advancements that have been made to improve the efficiency of farm equipment and our current ability to produce more crops while being better stewards of the land.
When my husband’s grandfather farmed our family’s land back in the 1940s and ’50s, the grain harvested would have been considered organic by today’s standards. He owned less than 500 acres. Weeds were pulled by hand or reduced by tractor cultivation/tilling of the soil. This was labor intensive and time consuming. Insects were hard to control and could destroy acres of crops, and weather conditions determined whether or not a harvest would take place.
The number of farmers in America has continued to decrease over the past several decades, and the average age of farmers has gone up (58 years). The farm families that last well into their fourth and fifth generations have had to triple the size of their operations since the days of their ancestors in order to make a living. This requires a more sophisticated and efficient method of crop production. Working with biologists and agronomists, we strive to keep our crops safe and healthy. Because of intensive research in the field of biotech and significant improvements in chemical applications, farms now use fewer pesticides and herbicides than they did in the past.
Life evolves, times change, and we need to adapt in order to survive. Can you imagine a world without the Internet or air-conditioning or chemotherapy? Agriculture is necessary; the growing world population depends on it. The crops that are grown in America are abundant and nutritious. Levels of pesticides found in foods (from both organic and nonorganic methods) are minuscule and pose no known health problem here in America. And proper handling/washing of food products keeps us safe and healthy.
As far as profits go, my family is able to pay off land notes only when we have a crop to sell. We are able to put food on the table and pay our bills. I’m sure that in my lifetime, debt will be an ongoing issue, due to the expense of acquiring and maintaining farm ground and machinery. Being a farmer has never been about making money as much as it is a livelihood that is life itself to those who choose it.