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Wes Crane
Davis
Composition II
15 November 2015
Producing More With Less
Have you ever thought about what kind of world we would live in if we were not making
any advancements to fight world hunger? Many people today do not fully understand the
importance of agriculture biotechnology and crop research. With the continuous amount of
people populating the world growing rapidly and the amount of available farm land staying the
same we are going to start having to introduce better research and technology to make more
product. Some ideas are already being implemented into agriculture such as the genetically
modified seed. These seeds are becoming ever more popular with most farmers because of the
benefits that go along with them. Genetically modified crops have been out for several years now
and farmers are beginning to see the benefits that come with them. Genetically modified crops
are helping farmers and making a fight against world hunger by producing higher yield, reducing
pesticide use, reducing labor/equipment costs.
Genetic modifications to seeds have been around for many years now and through much
research and development we are now seeing improvements. There is also large amounts of
research being put into biotechnology due to our growing population. Many people may ask,
what is biotechnology, well biotechnology is the study of the genetic manipulation of many
things such as plants, seeds, and even antibiotics. As Qaim stated, Plant genetic engineering
methods were developed over 30 years ago, and since then, genetically modified (GM) crops

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have become commercially available and widely adopted(Qaim). Just in the last few years we
have just began to see the GM seeds become popular. In 2009 we first began to see the first
forms of genetically modified seeds planted on earth. With the population rate growing very
rapidly around the world, along with the world hunger rate, we began seeing more and more
genetically modified crops to ultimately produce more product with a less amount of land.
Through GM crops farmers around the world are able to produce more and are seeing the great
benefits that go along with it. The genetic modified seeds have been overwhelmingly adapted to
American farmers (Benefits). The genetically modified technology is used in 93% of soybean
acres, 87% of corn acres, and 91% of cotton acres and continues to rise. This just goes to show
how many framers have made the switch from organic to GMOs in the past few years.
Along with all of the work that has been put into biotechnology and the development of
genetically engineered seed, we are seeing not only great benefits to farmers but also everyday
people. Farmers are now able to plant more crops using less land. Now many people may think
that this is impossible, but the development of better seeds that need less water to grow is the
reason. As American Farm Bureau reports, Technology allows farmers to produce more food,
using less land and fewer chemicals, while conserving soil, water, and on-farm
energy(Benefits). This meaning that we are able to plant seeds closer together because of the
reduced amount of water that they need to survive. Not only can we plant more crops per field,
but we are also seeing benefits from the increased hardiness of the plants. Genetic modifications
have been made to make the plants withstand tougher environmental conditions such as drought.
With being able to plant more seeds per field and also the crop being able to with stand tougher
environmental conditions, farmers are beginning to see higher yields in year to year crop. Higher
yield to the farmer ultimately leads to the more he is paid for his work.

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The latest and the most popular seed that has come from the genetically modified
industry is the Roundup Ready seed developed by Monsanto. The Roundup Ready seed is a seed
that has had a gene implemented into it to make it resistant to Roundup. Now many of you who
dont know what Roundup is, well it is a broadleaf herbicide that was also developed by
Monsanto. When Roundup is applied to a field or anything it will kill everything it comes into
contact with. So when a farmer applies Roundup to his field he is killing all of the unwanted
grasses and weeds in his field. This is making farming today much more profitable and
productive because a farmer can plant his crop wait for it to mature then go in and spray
Roundup removing all of the unwanted grasses and weeds from the crop. This is a huge step in
modern day farming because it is making it a whole lot easier on the farmer. One huge benefit
from this method is that farmers are eliminating all of the weeds and grasses in their field which
in turn means the less he will get docked for trash being in his field. Traditionally farmers would
have to drive down the rows of their row crops with a field cultivator ripping up weeds and
grasses. If a famer could not drive in a straight line he would be damaging his crops making it
very difficult on the farmer. Roundup ready crops not only benefited weed control, but they made
a huge impact on tillage practices. As stated by a recent article Growers in all cropping systems
increased their use of conservation tillage after adopting Roundup Ready crops (Roundup).
Thus meaning that we are seeing reduced soil erosion along with reduced labor costs for the
farmers. Overall the Roundup crop program have been proven to increase amount of return for
the farmer. As stated by Gianessi, comparing several conventional and Roundup treatments on
Roundup Ready varieties, the Roundup only program was the most profitable system, providing
a 13% higher net return than the next best alternative (Gianessi). This means more income that
the farmer is seeing which means it is easier on him.

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Not only have we seen many benefits to the crop its self from genetic engineering, but we
have also seen benefits to the land and the environment. From the newly adapted Roundup
Ready seed we have seen a very popular farming practice emerge. This new and highly popular
farming practice is called no till farming. No till farming is an easier method of farming by
spending less time in the field and also less money spent on fuel. Traditionally a farmer would
make at least three trips across his field with a plow, disc, chisel, or a field cultivator working
ground and preparing a seed bed before being able to plant. Now as you can imagine pulling all
of this heavy iron across a field all day is going to eat up a lot of time and fuel and that means
more money out of the farmers pocket. No till on the other hand is pretty self-explanatory, it
means that there is no tillage practices done before planting. Now the way no till works, is
usually several months before planting a farmer will spray Roundup on his field to kill off
everything so that the seed can enter the soil. Most of the time a farmer will spray one more time
a couple weeks before planting to make sure he has eliminated all of the weeds and grasses. Next
a farmer will come in with drills that are specially designed for no till that will cut a trench drop
the seed in and then cover it up. This method of farming is much easier because it saves at least
three trips across the field when some fields may be a couple miles long. When saving trips
across the field, a farmer is saving more time and diesel fuel and ends up being much more
efficient for the farmer in the long fun. This method of farmer also has been proven to be
significantly better for the soil. With all of the dead stubble and trash, known as organic matter,
that piles up on the field after years of no till it begins to give off nutrients to the soil. Not only
does it give off nutrients to the soil, but it also helps hold moisture in the soil which is very
important in many aspects of farming. With having experience with the no till farming industry, I
have seen many benefits from it.

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With all of the numerous benefits that have been discussed so far in this paper, there are
still many that believe that genetically modified crops are doing nothing but hurting us. Many
think that the evil behind all of the genetic modifications is Monsanto. Monsanto is a large
agricultural corporation that provides most of the genetically modified seeds to farmers and
agribusinesses. Monsanto has become the world leader in genetically modified seeds since the
1980s and invests over two million dollars a day on research and development. What Monsanto
has done is created a patent on their genetically modified seed. So when a farmer goes in to
purchase seeds from Monsanto he has to sign a no seed save provision declaring that he will
not save any seed after harvest of the crop. More than 270,000 farmers a year buy seeds under
these agreements. Now many may say, well how is this hurting the farmer, well traditionally
when a farmers would harvest his crops either in spring or fall he would save just enough seeds
to replant for next year, eliminating him from having to buy more seeds at higher prices. Another
problem that some farmers are having with Monsanto is cross pollination between organic and
genetically modified crops. Genetically modified characteristics have been found in conventional
and organic crop fields due to cross pollination (Kruft). Typically in Canola, an organic plant can
cross pollinate with a GMO causing the organic plant to become a genetically modified crop.
Now what happens next is an organic farmer can then become sued by Monsanto if he decides he
wants to save seeds for next years plant. Also, another issue people have with genetically
modified crops is that they dont like the idea of genetically modifying or altering life in any
way. When you genetically modify a seed many people see that as a modification to life and
many are not sure of what will happen with releasing a new organism into the environment. As
stated by Kruft, Farmers may worry that their use of GM seeds will create "superweeds" or
"superbugs" that, over time, become resistant to GM seeds and crops and to other herbicides and

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pesticides (Kruft). Through the use of the Roundup Ready seed, famers may actually seed the
herbicide resistant gene transfer to things like weeds and bugs that would ultimately hurt the
farming society.
Although there is some people out there that think that genetic engineering to the farming
industry is not the way to go, there is still one very beneficial way that genetically modified
crops benefit farmers. Corn farmers for years have fought and fought pests in their corn and the
worst of all is the European corn borer. These pests would get into an ear of corn that was trying
to mature and begin to eat all of the grain away. This would decrease farmers yields
dramatically in the fields. Traditionally a farmer would have to go into his field and spray down
pesticide to get a control on the pests trying to enter the corn. This would be damaging parts of
the corn plants because of having to get the sprayer in the field to drive on the plants. Just in the
last few years researchers have developed genetically modified corn plants that are resistant to
the common pests. This is done by a special modification called the BT gene which is also
known as Bacillus Thuringiensis. The way the BT gene crops work is the plant produces proteins
that are toxic to the pests thus keeping them out of the crop. With this technology farmers are
now able to use less pesticide on their crops which benefits many health aspects. As Qaim
reported, Health benefits result from reduced pesticide exposure for farmers and rural laborers
and lower pesticide residues for consumers (Qaim). The reduced amount of pesticide being used
on crops in the U.S. is benefiting not only the environment but also the producers and
consumers. Pest resistant crop technology has made the biggest impact on the farming industry
by making farming more productive in many ways.
In many ways agriculture biotechnology and genetic engineering are not only helping our
farmers, but also Americas food supply. Through the genetic engineering of crops we are now

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able to produce higher yield, reduce pesticide use, and reduce labor/fuel costs which in turn
make a fight against world hunger. I support the research and development of genetically
modified crops 100 percent because it is the only option to feed a growing number of consumers
with a decreasing number of producers. With the average age of the American farmer being 65
years old we will now have to start looking for other ways to produce more product for the
continually growing population. Although many may disagree, I think that genetically modified
crops will make an attempt to help American farmers feed the world.

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Works Cited
"Benifits to Farmers." Voice of Agriculture. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. www.fb.org.
Gianessi, Leonard. Carpenter, Janet. Agriculture Biotechnology; Benefits of Transgenic
Soybeans. National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy. April 2000. 27 October
2015. www.ask-force.org
"GM Crop Use Continues to Benefit the Environment and Farmers." PG Economics. 6 May
2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. www.pgeconomics.co.uk.
Kruft, David. Impacts of Genetically Modified seeds and Crops on Farmers. Penn State law.
November 2001. 27 October 27, 2015. www.pennstatelaw.psu.edu
Parker, Chris. "How Monsanto Is Terrifying the Farming World." Miami New Times. 25 July
2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. www.miaminewtimes.com.
Qaim, Matin. "The Benefits of Genetically Modified Crops-and the Costs of Inefficient
Regulation." Resources for the Future. 2 Apr. 2010. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. www.rff.org.
"Round Up Ready Crops Have a Major Impact on Tillage Practices." Benchmark Study PDF. 1
Feb. 2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. www.glyphosateweedscrops.org.