The Farmer's Daughter USA

Hi, I'm Amanda! My family farms corn and soybeans in Southwest Michigan. I'm also a practicing attorney.

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Farmers Grow GMOs for these Environmental Reasons

December 14, 2020

We grow corn and soybeans. We’ve used genetically modified crops that benefit our farm since they were introduced 20 years ago. Specifically, we’ve adopted crops that are herbicide-resistant and produce the Bt protein. The herbicide-resistant crops allow us to use herbicide to kill weeds without hurting the crops. The Bt trait protects our corn by making it toxic to certain bugs, including all those pesky worms that can quickly and effectively destroy an entire field.

Unfortunately, biotechnology has taken quite a beating in public perception. We’ve seen activists’ smear campaigns disseminating misinformation. The most ridiculous claim is that farmers don’t want to plant these crops; they’re forced to grow them. But we’ve adopted this technology voluntarily. And one reason is the environmental benefits for our farm.

Here are a few of them: 

We Use Less Herbicides.

Weeds are a big deal. Farmers are always fighting them because their presence can have decrease yields. Before herbicide-resistant crops were available, the only option for weed control was to try to kill them before the crop was planted. Once the crop was planted and started growing, weed-control options were quite limited. Farmers sometimes had to use harsher chemicals to deal with hardier weeds. Herbicide-resistant crops have made weed control much easier with a safer product. We also use less herbicide on our crops because one application is usually enough.

We Use Zero Insecticides. 

Thanks to genetically modified crops, we no longer apply any insecticide to our corn crop. That’s right: it’s been over 20 years since we sprayed insecticides. Before GMOs, insecticide was a very important crop-protection tool. Now the Bt trait protects the corn from insects that can (almost literally) chew through an entire field. And the Bt protein only kills certain pests. It doesn’t bother other beneficial insects. So not only have we stopped using insecticides, we are able to protect the good bugs, too.

Conservation Tillage is More Easily Adopted.

Conservation tillage allows farmers to leave the residue from the previous year’s crops in the field without having to plow or disturb the soil before planting for the next year. This is a really important tool for farmers because it can drastically increase soil health. And soil health is key for using fewer farm inputs and achieving higher yields. Herbicide-resistant crops make it much easier to adopt conservation tillage practices because weeds are more easily controlled. So we don’t have to prep a field for weed control and planting.

We Have Less Carbon Emissions.

Tractors have to burn fuel to get across the fields. That means every time we have to apply herbicides or insecticides, we have to run the tractor up and down the field burning fossil fuels. And that contributes to climate change. With the adoption of genetically engineered crops, we are able to make fewer passes across the field. The result is a smaller carbon footprint.

In fact, recent research found that if no GMO crops were grown in 2018, an additional 23 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide would’ve made its way into the atmosphere. That’s equivalent to an additional 15.3 million cars on the road!

Despite what consumers may have heard, genetically modified crops have provided a lot of environmental benefits for family farmers. We are definitely happy to use them!

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Filed Under: Biotechnology, Production Methods Tagged With: climate change, environment, GMO, gmos, pesticides

Hi, I'm Amanda. My family farms corn and soybeans in Southwest Michigan. I'm an attorney and I'm passionate about agriculture!

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thefarmersdaughterusa

I'm Amanda. My family farms corn and soybeans in Southwest Michigan. I'm an attorney by day, and "agvocate" at night.

Amanda Zaluckyj
The recent Feeding the Economy report reveals that The recent Feeding the Economy report reveals that the US food and agriculture sectors are economic powerhouses! They represent 13 percent of all US jobs. These sectors contributed more than $2 trillion in wages in 2020. And nearly $797 billion in taxes. Food and agriculture contribute $7 trillion to the nation's economy. 

The report was commissioned by 33 food and ag groups. The numbers are staggering and, quite frankly, hard to conceptualize. But I share them for that very reason. Food and agriculture are huge. And these issues matter. It's worth taking the time to talk about them, (respectfully) debate them, and keep people engaged.

#agriculture #sustainableag #sustainability #farms #economicpowerhouse
Where are my gardeners? It seems like every year t Where are my gardeners? It seems like every year the garden space gets more and more entrenched in silly gimmicks like this. And I'm told social-media garden groups are the worst. So let's clear up some myths.

🌱 Whether a seed is labeled organic or not depends on the parent plant. If the parent plant was only treated with organic pesticides (yes, those exist), the seeds can be labeled organic. If the parent plant is treated with conventional pesticides, it can't be labeled organic.

🌱 It's worth mentioning that organic farmers don't always use "organic seed." If they can't find enough seed for their needs, they can use seeds from conventional parent plants and still label the plant and produce as organic.

🌱 The seeds in these two packets are the same--same variety, same type of plant, same basil (literally the same picture too). You aren't getting anything extra for the organic seed, except the higher price tag.

🌱 Using organic seeds doesn't result in better plants or more nutritious food. They also don't make the food you eat any safer or reduce exposure to chemicals.

🌱 While we're talking about it, home gardeners usually don't have access to genetically modified varieties. So when you see the non-GMO label on a packet of seeds--especially ones of this size--that's a given. GMOs are generally only sold for commercial purposes in (very) large quantities. And some require the user to sign additional paperwork.

#Seeds #GardenMythBusters #organicseeds
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🥕 Tolerances are set extremely conservatively. Why? Because we want it to be completely unrealistic for any person to encounter enough pesticide residue to matter.

🥑 In fact, it would be *impossible* for you to eat enough pesticide residue to see an impact. For example, a woman could eat 850 apples IN ONE DAY and still not encounter enough pesticide residue to make a difference. You can calculate your own risk here: https://www.safefruitsandveggies.com/calculate/

🍑 We also make sure everyone is following the rules. USDA does annual, random sampling to make sure that the food in the grocery store is well within the tolerances. Each year, again and again, USDA's conclusion is that there's nothing to worry about. Read about the latest results here: https://thefarmersdaughterusa.com/usda-another-year-with-no-concerning-levels-of-pesticide-residue/

🥦 If you're still concerned about pesticide residue, wash your produce for 20 seconds under running water. That will clean it right up! Quite frankly, you should probably do this anyway because you never know who touched your food along the supply chain!

🍇 The only thing you should be worried about when it comes to fruits and vegetables is whether you're eating enough of them! Most of us aren't! So stop paying attention to labels and start eating!
Dose 1 of 2. ✔ #covid19 #covid_19 #vaccine #ᴠ Dose 1 of 2. ✔

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