SACRAMENTO—As debate rages over genetically modified crops, a group of growers and scientists is touting them as a wave of the future.
Members of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, a new trade organization, have been meeting with various California media to present GMOs as a solution to droughts like the one the Golden State faces this year as well as other threats to the global food supply.
They assert biotech crops have a role in advancing environmental sustainability, efficiency and water conservation in agriculture as well as increasing the food supply and lowering costs to consumers.
“We have a pretty diverse farming operation, and we use GMO crops where we can fit them in and make the most sense,” said Don Cameron, vice president and general manager of Terranova Ranch in Helm, Calif. The ranch has a mix of conventional, organic and biotech field crops about 25 miles southwest of Fresno.
“They just passed legislation for groundwater controls in the state and we’re primarily a groundwater user for farming, so we do look at GM crops as a water-saving device,” Cameron said. “We know that Roundup Ready crops can get rid of competing weeds, and because of that we can save water by not irrigating the weeds during growth of the crop. It’s one tool that we have.”
Joining Cameron on a panel of experts in the media tour Sept. 16-17 were University of California-Los Angeles plant molecular biologist Bob Goldberg, seventh-generation Illinois corn and soybean farmer Katie Pratt and DuPont Pioneer strategist Jim Gaffney.
The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance was formed about three years ago “to give all the different voices of agriculture a voice” to inform consumers about how food is grown in the U.S., spokesman Blake Rhodes said.
Pratt said she has spent much time in the last two years talking with consumers about decisions made on the farm.
“We do use biotechnology as one tool on our farm,” she said. “It’s important for us to utilize what makes sense so we are sustainable for the next generation.”
The tour comes as GMOs are increasingly under fire in the West. In Oregon, voters in November will consider Measure 92, which would require processors to label packaged foods that contain genetically modified ingredients while retailers selling unpackaged raw commodities containing GMOs would be required to provide signage.
Voters in California and Washington have voted down similar measures. In California, a bill by state Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, that would require any raw agricultural commodity or packaged food that is produced with genetic engineering to be so labeled was voted down in committee.
The panelists say they hope their efforts will ease consumers’ concerns about biotech crops even if they’re required to be labeled.
“If there needs to be a label, there can be a label, but if … they’re going to eliminate the use (of GMOs), that’s when my feathers get a little ruffled,” Pratt said. “It is another tool in the tool belt. If we didn’t have that choice, we’d be reverting back to production methods … that weren’t the best when it came to soil conservation or quality and water conservation and quality.
“As farmers, we definitely see the benefits in using this technology,” she said.
Source: www.capitalpress.com