Is your food supply safe?

When biotech crops were introduced to the farmers, they were promoted as a way to increase crop yield and reduce pesticide use. Now that most of the cotton, soy beans, and corn grown in this country are of the genetic modified (GM) variety, farmers are finding out that they not only are not able to reduce pesticide use, but their pesticide usage has actually increased. Thirteen years after the adoption of GM crops, farmers are seeing a net increase of 318 miilion pounds of pesticide (insecticides and herbicides) usage, and not much of an increase in net crop yield. Meanwhile we are all  paying more for food because to the added cost of GM seeds and increased pesticide use, and the hidden cost of damage to the environment and our health has yet to be factored in.

Thus biotech crop seeds may be beneficial for biotech/pesticide companies, they are bad news for farmers and the environment. The increase in pesticide residues in our food supply also pose serious threat to human health. The food we choose to eat have direct health and environmental consequences. Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are derived mainly from fossil fuel. Currently 10 to 15 calories of fossil fuel energy are used to produce 1 calorie of food, a highly inefficient process. Nationally, about  17% of the fossil fuel consumption is directly related to the chemical farming industry (http://www.energybulletin.net/node/17036). As we are trying to rid ourselves of dependence on fossil fuel and transition to renewable sources of energy like solar power,  wind  and geothermal energy, increased emphasis on returning to organic farming can go a long way in ensuring our energy and food security.