The GMO Myth

"We grow a whale of a lot of corn and feed scads of people in this country and abroad."

I don't know about you, but I am so tired of hearing about all this horse pucky concerning GMO, I could almost puke. Well guess what? It is because of our hybriding and GMO sciences that we have been able to stand the Malthusian Theory on it's ancient head. Even with a world population of over 7 billion people, we have the ability to hold starvation and hunger at bay.

Here are the facts. First off, corn is the golden child in our agribusiness. We grow a whale of a lot of corn and feed scads of people in this country and abroad. Our local University had been involved in the hybriding science of corn for decades. We now have high yield corn which can grow inches apart and is drought and disease resistant. And by the way for all you organic lovers. Over 90% of the corn we grow in this country is GMO. And thank heavens for that. Otherwise, our food would be much more expensive and not as easy to come by.

Also, did you ever wonder how in the world, in the middle of winter, how we can get fresh fruits and vegetables? That look fresh picked in the grocery store? We all know from growing vegetables in our backyard garden, that the time from fresh picked to spoiling is not that long. The trick is having a combination of a much improved transportation system and.....GMO and hybriding. The 15 day cruise we were on recently had fruits and veggies on the last day as fresh as the were on the first day.

Is there some risk with GMO? Possibly, but not probably. The FDA is in this thing knee deep from the get-go. Nothing with a "GMO" ticket can be released without the testing and the approval of the FDA. And if we think the FDA can be "bought off" by Big Ag, then let's get rid of it. 

My feeling by studying world hunger for decades now is simply this. Back when I was in high school, people like Robert Malthus and Paul Ehrlich were looked upon as a gurus. They knew better than us. They wanted us to "cull the herd" so the rest of us could survive. Well guess what? The Earth Institute at Columbia University (not a right wing group), has recently said that by 2050 we will have an additional 2 billion people to feed. And they feel that even though GMO will not be a panacea, it will certainly help to fill the gap.

So the next time you have cousin Sally over for Sunday dinner and asks as she is dishing up corn, "Is this GMO?", you look at her and say, "Absolutely! And then say, "Without it Sally, you would not be here eating with us today. And without hybriding and GMO, you would be lucky to get anything to eat today." Amen, case closed. Nothing left for Sally to say.