GMO crops that are tolerant to herbicides help farmers control weeds without damaging the crops. When farmers use these herbicide-tolerant crops they do not need to till the soil, which they normally do to get rid of weeds. This no-till planting helps to maintain soil health and lower fuel and labor use.

Some benefits of genetic engineering in agriculture are increased crop yields, reduced costs for food or drug production, reduced need for pesticides, enhanced nutrient composition and food quality, resistance to pests and disease, greater food security, and medical benefits to the world’s growing population.

The possible benefits of genetic engineering include:

• More nutritious food.
• Tastier food.
• Disease- and drought-resistant plants that require fewer environmental resources (such as water and fertilizer)
• Less use of pesticides.
• Increased supply of food with reduced cost and longer shelf life.
• Faster growing plants and animals.

Yes. There is no evidence that a crop is dangerous to eat just because it is GM. There could be risks associated with the specific new gene introduced, which is why each crop with a new characteristic introduced by GM is subject to close scrutiny.

GM crops also increase yield. The technology has allowed farmers to grow more without needing to use additional land, reducing pressure on typically high biodiverse land to be converted for agricultural production.

Additionally, a series of GM crops have modified to express traits like an efficient use of soil nitrogen, which directly increases agricultural yield while reducing the use of fertilizers, and the new generation of diverse drought-tolerant, heat-tolerant and salinity-tolerant crops, which will increase the final yield …

Currently, over 90 percent of corn, cotton, and soybean acreage in the United States is planted with genetically engineered (GE) seeds.

It has been estimated that upwards of 75% of processed foods on supermarket shelves – from soda to soup, crackers to condiments – contain genetically engineered ingredients.

In 2015, GM crops were grown in 28 countries and on 179.7 million hectares – that is over 10% of the world’s arable land and equivalent to seven times the land area of the UK. The USA, Brazil and Argentina are the leading producers.

Genetically modified mice have been the most common mammals used in biomedical research, as they are cheap and easy to manipulate.

Now, no genetically engineered animals are approved for human consumption. The Food and Drug Administration regulates them as animal drugs—that is, medicine for animals, rather than food. So they have to go through a testing process so rigorous that it’s too expensive for them to be viable commercially.

GMOs aren’t really added directly to the meat, beef. However, beef cattle may consume feed that comes from a genetically modified plant. All beef cattle begin their lives on a farm or ranch, grazing pasture or grass – none of which is considered a GMO.

Most Common GMOs

• Alfalfa. Much of commercially available alfalfa has been genetically modified to contain a gene that makes it resistant to the herbicide Roundup.
• Canola. It is estimated that about 90% of US canola crops are genetically modified.
• Corn.
• Cotton.
• Papaya.
• Potato.
• Soy.
• Sugar Beet.