Too often the urban public attack farmers and agriculture - as producing too much, too little, or poor food sources.
A farmer has hit back - quietly and with dignity.
Read more here - http://westernfarmpress.com/print/government/gmos-biotechnology-offer-agricultural-blessings?page=1
pointing out a few fundamental flaws in some of the arguments used to condemn farmers and the crops and livestock they grow.
Well worth a brief read.
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2 comments:
Biotech will make the farm works easier.
If natural resources and ecosystems are part of nature, as, of course, they are, therefore, if agriculture consists in a struggle against nature, such struggle would include fighting the environment, which would be absurd, to say the least. The concept of interaction between agriculture and ecosystems and the former as part of the latter belies the mainstream misconception that feeding the increasing global population and preserving natural resources are competing rather than complementary goals, as they actually are The fight on natural disasters and adverse weather conditions is, of course, a priority, though not the only one. It is the preservation of natural resources (the physical support which makes agriculture possible) that constitutes the utmost priority. With regard to yields and resistance to pests and adverse weather conditions, they are essential to successful agriculture, though not at any cost, since human and animal health come first. The mainstream research on biotechnology seems to ignore that it poses an ethical dilemma to health and the environment. Unfortunately, the economic interests at stake of vertically integrated corporations manufacturing both inputs and food determine the research to conduct on this subject, its results and the prevailing agricultural practices. Most biotechnology innovations are more driven by profit-oriented criteria than by farmers’ and consumers’ needs. Moreover, biotechnological corporations aim to widen the farmers’ dependence on the GMOs they produce. On the other hand, as biotechnology leads to a decrease in farm labor, which in turn makes the prices of agricultural produce lower, it eliminates many small farmers who cannot afford it or keep up with the changes it imposes. As said above, much of the research on biotechnology we come across is biased and has been entrusted by biotechnological corporations rather than by objective independent NGO’s that only support people’s welfare. So, knowing the source of every research is crucial to separating the chaff from the wheat.
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