GM Crops' Impact Creates a Halo Effect, Expert Explains
July 22, 2020| |
Agricultural Economist Graham Brookes of PG Economics is the latest featured expert in the ISAAA Webinar series. His talk focused on the latest PG Economics' report on the economic and environmental impact of genetically modified (GM) crops globally for the past 23 years.
"GM crop technology continues to make an important contribution to reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture and securing global food supplies in a sustainable way. It has also helped lift many small, resource-poor farmers and their families in developing countries out of poverty," said Brookes. The total income increase of farmers who planted GM crops reached almost US$19 billion in 2018. GM crop adoption also reduced carbon emissions by 23 billion kg, which is equal to taking out 15.3 million cars off the roads.
Brookes emphasized the impact of GM crops which starts in the planting of GM crops in a specific area, and its widespread adoption helps not just the farmers who plant GM crops but those who plant the conventional counterparts as well, causing a "halo effect". He cited the case of the virus-resistant papaya in Hawaii as an example, saying that its widespread adoption significantly reduced the effect of the virus in the islands. This, in turn, enabled the non-GM papaya growers to also continue to grow their crops having benefited from the area-wide suspension of the virus, thereby helping save Hawaii's papaya industry.
The webinar attracted 1,936 registrants worldwide on Zoom. It was simultaneously streamed on YouTube and Facebook Live and garnered a total global reach of 3,372 viewers.
Watch the replay of the webinar on ISAAA's YouTube channel. The report's press release is available in Science Speaks.
| |
You might also like:
- Crop Biotechnology Continues to Provide Higher Farmer Income and Significant Environmental Benefits
- Colombia Benefits Economically and Environmentally from 15 Years of Planting GM Crops
- Long-term Adoption of GM Maize in Spain and Portugal Proves to Benefit Farmers and the Environment
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- GM Crops' Impact Creates a Halo Effect, Expert Explains
- ISAAA Launches Open-access Resources on Genome Editing
- Oat Genome Now on ARS Website
- Most Accurate Map of Pig Genome Gives Insights to Breeding Healthier Animals
-
Research Highlights
- Researchers Develop Fine-tune Methods for Gene Silencing
-
Plant
- Scientists Use CRISPR-Cas9 for Single-nucleotide Editing in Rice
- TALENs Used to Edit Mitochondrial DNA
- Experts Review Methods Used to Minimize Off-Target Effects in Genome Editing
- Researchers Turn to CRISPR Genome Editing to Make Cyanide-Free Cassava
-
Health
- Structural Analysis of COVID-19 Spike Protein Describes its Evolution
- Researchers Identify Possible Immune Targets in SARS-CoV-2 Genome
- Human Trials Begin for COVID-19 Plant-Based Technology Vaccine
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (April 17, 2024)
- Gene Editing Supplement (April 10, 2024)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet