November 20, 2013
By: Jerry Miller

The Hottest Topic In The Food Industry Part 2

A few weeks ago on

my trip to St. Louis

I was enlightened and completely intrigued to hear from some of the top people in the food industry talk about GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms). I blogged about ithere, and today I wanted to talk about why I am so supportive of using GMO's on farms across America.First off the process of getting a biotech trait approved is pretty intense. The USDA process takes 13 to 15 months for one biotech trait. And that trait is tested over and over and over.A trait is a distinguishing characteristic. Very similar to humans having brown hair or blue eyes. And a GMO's are plants with traits that are helping us farm more efficiently. For example, last year we had a little something across the Midwest, called a "drought year". It just so happened we planted a little something called a "drought resistant crop". Not all of our fields, but we did have a few. This drought resistant crop helped us to grow a crop with little rain because of that special little trait.Now, this helped us during a drought year…but the another great benefit of having a plant with this trait is what it could mean for climates that are typically more dry.Technology continues to improve. It allows us to plant our crops in all types of conditions. And this could mean growing crops in places of the world where the environment doesn't always allow.It means growing more on less land. As the world's population continues to grow so does our need to offer more food to feed them.It means protecting our crops from pest infestations so we will never have to suffer a complete crop loss because of bugs.By the year 2050 the world's population is expected to reach 9 billion, which means we will need 70% more food. Biotechnology allows us to farm with less water, less fuel, less fertilizer, and less pesticides.Biotechnology is sustainability.Biotechnology is feeding the world.Next post on GMO's I am going to be talking about the awesome things that are happening at the Danforth Science Center in St. Louis. There are some very passionate people working there who believe in biotechnology and sustainable agriculture.