Since the beginning of modern day civilization people have in some way relied on corporations and large scale farming operations to produce their food for them. Families today no longer are into gardening and growing their own foods, most think the hard work is not worth it. In most cases you can buy your fresh vegetables and meats much cheaper than producing them yourself. Controversies and/or arguments have begun to reveal themselves recently. GMO’s and factory farming is what our nation relies on to produce enough food to feed our rapidly growing world. Traditional farm ways are very efficient, that is for the population 50 years ago. The lack of farmland due to the industrialized civilization we live in is a problem for farmers. They have been forced to partner their practices with that of scientists and have created what is now modern day farming. Modern day farming consists of altered genes of plants and animals, as well as, growth inhibitors being given to animals that reveal desired characteristics that will then produce products and food these animals give us at a more rapid rate. This new practice sparks many questions and some are hesitant to support such a scientific and unnatural way of farming. My research has come to prove that there are many advantages and disadvantages to the recent innovations in farming.
In one of my first sources Doctor Norman Borlaug discussed in this particular journal the effects that science has on agriculture. Borlaug states, ‘The role that science plays in today’s agricultural community has been so called necessary to our world’s growing demand for food, and is highly relied upon” (Borlaug, 2000). Borlaug does not take the side of agriculture in this editorial. First, he tells his audience of readers to look at how science is incorporated in other aspects of people’s lives, other than just in agriculture. By doing this it opens the eyes of the readers and shows them science is a part of modern society and impacts your life in such ways that are not as safe and as regulated like factory farming is. Anti- factory farming protestors say that the science within todays agriculture is not natural, they are correct. However, having touchscreen cell phones that can track your exact location at any given time anywhere on earth are not natural either. Dr. Borlaug expects and challenges readers to do research and gain personal knowledge on the processes of modern day agriculture before forming opinions.
Mistreatment of animals inside of factory farms is another area of peoples concern. Your average human being would not want to wake up in the morning to sizzling bacon from a hog that was miserable throughout the course of its life. Factory farmed animals are kept under close watch by the farmers as well as other outside sources for multiple reasons. If farmers or their employees are found mistreating animals, or not following guidelines set out by the government, they will be fined. If these producers exceed a certain amount of fines annually their farms can be repossessed by the government and the person accused can acquire criminal charges. This PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) sponsored website says, and I quote, “….denied everything that is natural and important to them” (PETA, 2014). This particular segment is referring to the pigs raised inside of factory farms. Pigs are animals and they find happiness in eating and staying warm which are their only concerns in life. However, the stereotypes that are viral all across the internet make people think that confinement barns instead of open feedlots are a bad thing. These confinement barns really allow the animals to be better taken care of and kept under closer watch.
US citizens and its economy benefit greatly from this new innovation of factory farming and GMO’s. A factory farm grows large amounts of a specific species of animal and their specific age. By focusing on a house full of baby piglets the farmer and the employees can focus on the diet of those piglets and buy the large amounts of feed needed for a cheaper price. If you had a mixed array of pigs ranging from 50-250 pounds you could not feed them properly. The smaller pigs would be unable to make their way to the food troughs and would over time suffer from malnutrition. Factory farms also help benefit our economy by creating jobs for the people. In all of the factory farms across the world, 700,000 which 62% of total job slots available in factory farms are being filled by people in the US (Chapman, 2015). For the most part GMO’s are beneficial to the world around us, but there is one perk to modifying an animal’s gene pool. Due to the fact that GMO’s are new to us, we do not know what the results will be in the long run. Altering genes in plants or animals could possibly cause sterility over time which will keep the plant and/or animal from ever reproducing successively again. Or this gene altering over time may cause these desired characteristics of maximum production to be permanently engraved into the organism’s gene pool. This would mean that stimulants, growth inhibitors, and many other chemicals would no longer be needed, saving farmers lots of money and allowing farmers to sell their products cheaper.
Altering the gene pool of animals in factory farms is frowned upon by some people, but altering the genes in a plant is still gene altering nonetheless. The controversy of altering plants genetic material is not harmful to our environment thus far, but is a fairly new practice that takes some getting used to. One of the greatest examples of gene altering in this source came from Dr. Madill. She says “Altering the gene for the length of a corn cob allows the farmer to plant a seed that will produce more corn per cob” (Logsdon, 2011). By planting this genetically modified seed we can produce much more corn with the same amount of land. By using this seed we benefit not only from its increase in corn to feed our growing population. We also prevent things such as logging and cutting down forests to produce more farmland. If science had not incorporated gene altering into these seeds, the only other option to produce more food would be to log large parcels of forests to create enough farmland for the original seed to grow.
The 21st century introduced many new types of agricultural inventions and processes. Farmers not only have made major improvements in factory farming and the GMO’s within farming, they also have made equipment improvements, and improvements with irrigation as well. Farmers previous to the 21st century irrigated mostly with large pipe that ran above ground. This pipe was very heavy and required lots of manual labor to set it up each year. It also protruded above ground which is a hazard for tractors because they may run over and puncture the aluminum pipe. Small irrigation lines are now being put underground at most fruit and vegetable farms which keeps a slow constant water supply on the plants instead of large quantities of water once daily. Some argue that spending on a complete change in irrigation is a waste, and that you can use conventional ways just as efficiently. This underground irrigation installation is not a cheap investment but pays off and guarantees to last for years to come. It also saves lots of water annually, “Farmers use 30-60% less water when switching to underground irrigation systems from conventional irrigation systems” (FAD, 2003). Tractors have made improvements that benefit the farmer and make operating this piece of heavy machinery a much safer task. Tractors prior to the 21st century did not have engine shutoff switches, airbags, or fire resistant cabs. The engine shutoff switch automatically turns off the engine whenever it reaches a high level of RPM’s while mowing thick grass or harvesting crops that require the use of your PTO (Power Take Off) shaft that turns the mower blades. By having a switch that automatically turns off the engine and PTO you can ensure that you are overworking your tractor. The fire resistant cabs are also a recent addition in tractor safety. When tractor incidents that can involve fires do happen such as engine malfunctions, it is good to know that your tractor cab will protect you from harm.
While genetically modified seeds benefit civilians by making crops cheaper, it makes it harder for farmers to make profits like in previous years. Farmers usually take seed from their harvest to plant the following year. Farmers then will make a larger profit the next year because they will not have to buy seed. Seed companies such as Monsanto have patents on their newly genetically modified seed. This patent has prevented the farmers from keeping seeds from their own crops! Forcing farmers to buy new seed every year decreases the amount of profit these hard working men and women make. The first patent of seeds came along in 1930, “we have only built off of this original patent to control our seed production and to guarantee an annual increase in profits” says a seed patent representative from Monsanto (Monsanto, 2014). Farmers have the option to plant these modified seeds which will increase their yield, or they can plant genetic seeds and use them from year to year. Choosing which path that will make the most profit is a decision the farmers will have to make.
The benefits of GMO’s are very obvious and the reaping of harvests have significantly increased. Over time spraying herbicides over these herbicide resistant, genetically modified crops can cause the weeds to grow immune to the herbicide (Green Facts, 2004). This can cause major problems in the future if farmers do not closely regulate the amount of herbicides they spray. Large quantities of herbicides on the same parcel of land can also cause the land to be permanently infertile. The long term effects of these genetically modified crops are unknown as far as how they affect human health. This is due to the fact that these crops have not been around long. Many people spread rumors that these genetically modified crops are harmful just because they are fairly new to society. As far as scientists can tell, no side effects will occur and genetically modified crops provide the same nutrition as traditional seeds and crops do.
Some may ask, “How do you genetically modify a seed?” Talk about harmful products and chemicals being used to create modified organisms and seeds is enough to scare anyone. The fact of the matter is that only natural genes and chemicals are used from a variety of organisms to create desired characteristics for your crop. The first step as Rebecca Boyle says, “Is to find a trait that you would like to see that will benefit your crop” (Boyle, 2011). Next you must extract the gene for that trait from another organism that exhibits the trait currently. After finding a crop that exhibits your desired trait you must extract the embryo without damaging it. All of these steps that involve gene modifying require very complicated and costly machines. After extracting the embryo you would need to carefully insert the embryo using a tool called a “gene gun” that carefully shoots the embryo into the original seed. Obviously after doing this you cannot plant this newly modified mixture of life straight into the ground, you must give it time to fertilize. You do this by placing it in a climate controlled greenhouse that is ideal for seedlings to grow and then be put into the ground.
Saying that everything we consume today is genetically modified in some way, is a false statement. Not all crops and animals produced today have genetic modifications. In fact, only 71% of crops planted on commercial farms today have stacked, or modified genes (Wechsler 2014). This does not include the local farmers that provide products to your local grocery store. The center for food safety in the US says an upwards of 75% of todays processed foods have genetic modifications (GE Foods, 2014). Through genetic modifications our planet has not only boosted our current seed durability, we have created new organisms. Consuming products with genetic modifications is not something to lose sleep over, it should set you at ease. Knowing that the world around you is being taken care of more efficiently due to the science and agriculture communities intertwining. For example, by inserting a gene for arctic flounder into tomatoes, tomatoes are now not as easily damaged by frost. Genetics and farming have much more in store for the future of feeding our world, many discoveries have yet to come.
As you can obviously see, genetically modified plants and animals have provided many job opportunities to our citizens. Saying that GMO’s and factory farms diminish the jobs that traditional farming methods provide is not an accurate accusation. Anywhere from jobs that require years of college education, to those that do not even require a high school diploma. The question is, are these manual labor workers being underpaid and/or overworked? The price of GM seed is going up every year and animal feed growing more and more expensive. This leaves less money the farmers have to pay their workers, without cutting into their profit margin that is. Thousands of immigrants work their way into America each year, most of these immigrants come to do basic manual labor jobs that do not require the use of any personal information such as a social security number, or a birth certificate. What better job for an illegal immigrant to do than to work in the agriculture industry. A large booming industry that has no other option but to keep growing. Just because these are not citizens of the US is it right for our farmers to underpay them? Not all farmers underpay their hard workers. Last year in the US alone it was documented that 41% of farm workers were subject to wage theft (splcenter, 2014). This does not mean that all 41% of these workers were cheated out of their hard earned money, it means that this 41% had no insurance or any type of documentation that ensured their paycheck to be fair.
Just like any process we use today genetic modification and factory farming have their pros and cons. A topic such as this one that impacts not only our country but the entire world! In order to form your own opinion about anything you must do research and gain knowledge on that particular thing. We as a modern day society full of innovation should accept science and agriculture together, not as being two different areas of research. Without science in agriculture feeding our growing world would be a much greater task, and in the future has been predicted to be impossible. Genetic modifications are something that all of us will have to accept and realize this is a process that has been used much longer than we realize.