By Rod Osthus
The future of agriculture is entirely dependent upon developing a different mindset—not just by those of us employed in the industry, but by every member of society. Probably the greatest mindset change that needs to take place involves Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).
GMOs are, without a doubt, the most controversial topic related to agriculture and are of large concern to a lot of the population. People in the know understand that GMOs help farmers raise better quality, higher yielding crops. Genetically modified plants have the ability to protect themselves from the negative impact of Mother Nature and produce to their genetic potential. Those less informed on GMOs are worried about just one thing—the impact they may have on the safety of the food they eat.
It’s reported that 80% of the processed foods on the shelves in the United States are genetically modified. But genetic modifications have been taking place for centuries by way of both man and nature. In fact, nature has been one of the most prolific genetic modifiers without even being noticed. All man has done is speed up the process by making plant improvements more efficient and more effective. The problem is too many people don’t fully understand man’s approach, so they believe what he’s doing is dangerous.
This edition of SeedSeller Training Journal is dedicated to every person involved in researching, producing, and selling GMOs. Right now, the anti-GMO crowd is winning the debate over whether they are bad or good. They’re winning by creating the wrong perception faster than we in Ag are creating the right perception. The entire perception game starts with having a story about GMOs, which I find very few people in our industry have.
