Genetic engineering improves crops, helps the environment

When you have a garden, you know you want the best seeds and the most nutrient-rich soil. You water your garden faithfully, weed, and hope for the best produce possible.  With farming hundreds of acres, you have the same requirements — just on a larger scale. However, with farming, there’s a lot more at stake than a home garden. Your livelihood and future lies in your fields. And especially in our area, the water quality of Lake Erie and well-being of others may benefit from farmers continuing to bridge toward technological advancements that help us care even more for the environment on and around our farms. So, protecting yields and the environment is top of mind, which is why farmers choose to plant genetically engineered crops. To produce genetically engineered crops, scientists copy genes that have a desired trait in a certain plant to use in other plants. According to a recent survey of farmers by U. S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance and National Corn Growers Association, farmers believe people find pesticides (96%) and water usage (95%) to be consumers’ top concerns. Farmers reported that they grow genetically engineered crops as a way of addressing these concerns. The majority of farmers said genetically engineered crops allow them to minimize pesticide and herbicide use, and over three-quarters chose genetically engineered crops in conjunction with practices such as conservation tillage, which promotes better water quality and soil health.