When I went to the Farm Science Review, an "organic" company tried to sell me some pesticides certified for organic use. And, I was confused. Had I misunderstood what it meant to raise organic food? Believe me when I say I am now totally baffled by the organic movement.
Hank Campbell wrote an interesting article entitled, Food Awareness Should Include Disclosing Pesticides on Organic Food, in January of 2014. So, organic foods containing pesticides is not a new discovery. But, wouldn't some of the GMO crops on the market today help further the work of the Organic Movement? Crops that are more resistant to pests or weeds, wouldn't this mean less chemicals being sprayed on our food?
Many agvocates have tried to dispel myths that exist regarding GMOs. Greg Peterson, of the Peterson Farm Brothers, explains GMOs and the use of technology in agriculture in his blog, Greg Peterson - Advocate for Truth: GMOs:
What are GMOs?
GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, will also be referred to in this blog as GM Food, GM Crops, GM Products, Genetic Engineering, and Biotechnology. Biotechnology in plant agriculture is the process of intentionally making a copy of a gene for a desired trait from one plant or organism and using it in another plant. Humans have been intentionally changing the genetics of crops since the beginning of their existence. In fact, every single fruit, vegetable, and grain that is grown by farmers today has been genetically altered (through hybrids and selective breeding) to produce better taste, yield, or disease/drought/insect resistance. While GMOs are slightly different than hybrids, they are simply the newest form of this type of technology and have been around since the early 1990s.
Greg has even addressed the issue of Christian Ethics in regard to the use of GMOs and other similar technologies in his blog post, My Perspective as a Christian on GMOs.
Here I pause to mention that I have a good friend who is a pastor of two local United Methodist Church congregations. She is originally from Canada, where her family still lives and farms around 1800 acres of land. Most of their crops are lentils and beans, which are exported to third world countries. I asked my friend if her farm was a GMO or a non-GMO farm, and she emphatically declared that ethically her family could not raise non-GMO crops. She stated that just for world sustainability, her family felt called to plant crops that could help feed the world. And that GMO crops were allowing her family to raise more food using the same amount of effort as previous non-GMO crops had required. This in turn allowed her family to ship more staple food items to third world countries. It truly is an ethical dilemma, should her family continue to produce non-GMO crops, with a lower yield to ship at a higher price to the consumers OR, should the family choose to raise higher yielding GMO crops at a lower cost to the consumer? I have to question whether those in the organic movement have truly considered this issue.



Maybe I am angry. . . Maybe my acquaintance is right. But, if I am angry, it is because companies are playing on consumer fears of technology and GMOs to sell commodities. And, at the end of the day, I do not believe most farmers oppose labeling products because of what the products might contain. I believe that they are resistant to labeling products because of the misinformation that is already out in the public. If you do not believe me, check out this post from the Organic Consumers Association. Farmers are asked to feed the world a safe product at an affordable cost to consumers. And, when they successfully use science to produce more food, using less chemicals, at a lower cost, the farmers are criticized. They are asked to label whether their products utilize technology. And, when they appropriately label their products, they are attacked by the public "for attempting to poison people." Yes, I am angry at the double standard.
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