Sunday, November 6, 2011

EWOT Goggles #9

Genetically modified foods are a topic of massive debate in our modern agricultural society. There a several  aspects of the process that worry people (i.e. "playing God", health risks, etc.), but the fact of the matter is that GM crops have a comparative advantage over regular crops. The World Health Organization estimates that there are around 5,000 pesticide-related deaths each year. Genetically altered crops usually have a pest-resistent gene, thus eliminating the need for pesticide use. This dramatically reduces the number of cases related to pesticide poisoning among GM crops.

GM produce also fosters specialization. Due to strides in fertilizer development, crop rotation is becoming more and more outdated. Corn, for example, can essentially be grown year round on particular fields. Farmers can specialize in certain seeds so all growers don't need to raise everything. Your average grocery store has fruit, vegetables, and grains that originated in all points in the country, and often the world. Because the genes that cause products to spoil have been isolated and removed as fully from crops as possible, produce can be stored for obscene amounts of time without spoiling. GM crops have overcome the physical transaction cost of distance because their long shelf life allows for long transportation times.

As with almost every job field besides health care and higher education, strides in agricultural technology have replaced many manuel workers indefinitely. Machines can plant, water, fertilize, and finally harvest the crops. Genetically modified plants cut down on the amount of machine work as well because little or no pesticides or herbicides are used. It's difficult to say whether GM plants are "better" because they still belong to a world with a ton of unknowns, but they definitely have comparative advantages in most all growth and cultivation processes over regular crops.

1 comment:

  1. Economics has a lot to say about genetically modified plants and crops. Setting that aside for now, many complain about GM crops and plants and say that the chemicals in their modifications cause diseases, cancers, etc. They aren't consistent in their arguments though. The fact is that just as there are chemicals in GM crops and foods, there are just as many if not more natural chemicals and carcinogens in non-GM foods and crops, in coffee, in fruits, and in all types of things. People never complain about these though. It is useful to evaluate the consistency in people's arguments about GM crops.

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