Different views, but similar reaction to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) report “Failure to Yield:”

Georgia farmer Jimmy Webb wrote, “We started growing BT cotton seed in 1996 and at first our yields dropped but have risen since then and we are at our highest average ever with cotton. I think it is a combination of the breeding and genetics. No one ever brings up the benefit this has on our environment.  We have also decreased our insecticide applications down from 10-12 per year to 1-2 per year. ”

And from Dr. Wayne Parrott, Professor in the Department of Crop & Soil Sciences at the University of Georgia , “The report is at odds with the results from the experience of farmers around the world. At the very least, the current biotech crops are preventing yield losses to pests. In the end, it is not just about yield- it is about the ability to practice no-till farming (thus saving fossil fuels and preventing soil erosion); it is about the ability to use less insecticides, it is about the ability to make farming easier and more profitable and sustainable. So even if there were no yield advantage, there are plenty of other reasons to use biotech crops.”

Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, Executive Vice President, Food and Agriculture for BIO was quite clear, “Biotech crops help to provide for more sustainable agricultural production.  The benefits include a reduction in the environmental impacts of agriculture, increased production on the same amount of acreage, improved food quality, and increased farmer incomes.”