THEM ME

USDA and the industry stressed that the organic Just because some thing is organic does not
seal should not convey food safety, quality or mean that it is safe to consume.
nutrition information.
The issue of sustainability is complex and Organic food is not healthier for the environment
confounding. For example, the growing demand than GMO food because it is less sustainable.
for organic and non-GMO products in the U.S.
has prompted some manufacturers to switch to
less sustainable sources.
Pressured by anti-GMO groups such Companies are changing their products from
as GMOInside and wary consumers, many small GMO to organic because of claims that organic
firms and some large food companiesHershey is food is healthier and more sustainable than GMO
the most prominentare switching from so-called food. This is incorrect because organic foods
GMO sugar (sucrose made from herbicide require more use of harmful chemicals than GMO
tolerant sugar beets) to sucrose made from non- food.
GMO sugar cane. Sucrose contains no DNA so
there is no detectable difference between sugar
from GMO or non-GMO sources.
Planting genetically modified sugar beets allows GMO foods require less maintenance and input
them to kill their weeds with fewer chemicals. than organic foods. Compared to organic crops,
GM sugar beets are sprayed a few times during GMO crops are treated with herbicides much less
the growing season while non-GMO varieties than organic crops.
spray their crop every 10 days or so with a
witches brew of five or six different
weedkillers.
Benbrook claimed in 2012 that the use of GMO One study showed that GMOs have caused a 7%
crops has backfired and results in unsustainable increase of pesticides around the world;
increased use of pesticides (both insecticide and however, another study with the same data
herbicide) of 7%, almost of it due to the increase showed that GMOs have caused a 9.1% reduction
in glyphosate tied to herbicide resistant GMO in pesticide use around the world.
crops. Graham Brookes of PG Economics
published a peer reviewed report earlier that
year using the same data that reached a different
conclusion: GM crops may actually have reduced
worldwide pesticide use by 9.1%. A meta-study
crunching global data from 147 other studies
published in November 2014 in PLOS
ONE concluded that GM technology adoption
has reduced chemical pesticide use by 37%,
The USDA statistics also show a 10-fold decrease Numbers obtained by the USDA indicate that the
in insecticide use since the introduction of Bt use of insecticides have decreased by 10 times
(insect resistant) corn and cotton. over 15 years of studying GMO cotton and corn.
Per-acre yields of organic crops are significantly Organic crops produce less food than GMO crops,
lower than those for conventional, with increasing the ecological footprint to produce
estimates ranging from 10-35%, and even higher enough food to feed the world.
among some grains and vegetables.
Jon Entine
https://gmo.geneticliteracyproject.org/FAQ/organic-non-gmo-farming-sustainable-farming-using-gmos/

Are organic and non-GMO farming more sustainable than farming using GMOs?. GMO FAQ,
gmo.geneticliteracyproject.org/FAQ/organic-non-gmo-farming-sustainable-farming-using-gmos/.