Success Stories
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Opponents of agricultural innovation often claim that crops improved through biotechnology ("GMOs") have failed to deliver benefits to consumers, farmers, the environment and society. As of 2017, more than 18 million farmers in 28 countries around the world rebut these claims with their repeated purchases of biotech improved seeds. Seventeen million of them are resource-poor smallholders in developing countries who depend on these crops for their immediate livelihoods, and cannot afford to make a bad decision. The peer reviewed scientific literature is packed with papers full of data that explain and support the choices of these farmers and the billions of consumers who have benefited directly from increased harvests of safer food and clothing produced with smaller environmental footprints. Below we present some concrete examples of GM products that have delivered significant benefits to consumers, farmers, and the environment in the decades since biotech improved crops were first developed, or are poised to do so.
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- Virus Resistant Papaya - GM papaya bred to resist a deadly plant disease has rescued the Hawaiian papaya industry and saved the livelihoods of thousands of small farmers. [Read more...]
- Non Browning Apples - Apples are a hugely popular fruit around the world and a major item in international trade. A considerable toll of waste results from the cosmetic defect of browning that occurs once the flesh is exposed to air. Biotech researchers have provided a solution that is now in the hands of consumers. [Read more...]
- Insect Resistant Brinjal/Talong/Aubergine/Eggplant - Bangladeshi farmers enjoy success from GM brinjal resistant to insect pests. [Read more...]
- Herbicide tolerant crops - Weeds are one of the biggest obstacles between farmers and a successful harvest, competing with crops for nutrients, water, and sunlight. Modern biotechnology has allowed farmers to use a newer generation of herbicides that are same for animals and insects and help conserve soil health. [Read more...]
- Bt Insect Resistant Cotton - Biotechnology has provided a safe and lasting method of pest control that has disproportionately benefited small cotton farmers in India, China, and South Africa. [Read more...]
- Bt Insect Resistant maize (corn) - Biotech innovators have taken genes that encode for proteins widely used for pest control by organic growers and inserted them into maize (and cotton) to provide built in protection through a safe, targeted, pest specific control measure that dramatically reduces the need for pesticide sprays. [Read more...]
- Drought Resistant Maize (corn) - Maize is one of the world's most widely planted, versatile, and important crops. Biotechnology has helped develop new varieties that can deliver significant yields even in the face of drought conditions. [Read more...]
- Faster Growing Salmon/Tilapia - With global demands for animal protein on a steep upward climb, and most global fishers being harvested at or beyond sustainable limits, biotechnology has enabled development of an environmentally friendly solution for Atlantic salmon production that can be transferred to other species as well. [Read more...]
- More Sustainable Potatoes - Potatoes produce, when fried, a chemical byproduct called acrylamide, which is thought may cause cancer above certain levels. Biotech solutions for less acrylamide, less bruising too, have been developed and are now on the market.. [Read more...]
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