This is what you didn't know about GM soy..

Genetically modified (GM) crop production has been at the heart of a number of very heated debates in the recent years and with our loved/hated soybean as the most popular GM crop in the world, covering a total area just short of 80 million hectares,  this post and the arguments I will hereby explore were long due. So I ask myself :

Is GM soy better for the environment than non-GM soy?

Soybeans are the most common GM crops in the world

GM soy became is most popular in North America and Argentina but it is not restricted geographically and studies prove that over 90% of the world soy plantations are GM. The overwhelming popularity of the GM crop is due to its ability to tolerate herbicides as its RR gene was modified in order to make this crop immune to a primary chemical found in pesticides: glyphosate. 

The argument that is usually brought forward by experts who support GM crops is that they are more resistant to plagues and harsh environmental conditions, so they require less fertilizers and pesticides- including herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. This would be great news as both types chemicals lead to a number of not only local but global negative implications for biogeochemical flows.

However, this argument may not be as accurate in the case of soybeans.

In fact, the renowned agronomist Charles Benbrook proved that over the course of ten years farmers applied 318 million more pounds of herbicides on GM soy fields than on non-GM soy. The finding that modified crop required 26% more chemicals than the non-GM challenged the pro-GM argument at its very core. 

More studies proved that GM soy not only caused a 92% increase in pesticide application in North America, but also drove a considerable rise in agrochemical application in Argentina as each year farmers had to employ greater amounts of glyphosate in order to achieve the same results the previous year. They also had to spray the crop more often leading to an increase of the number of average yearly applications from 1.8 to 2.5 in the course of 6 years.

The negative implications of the ever increasing amount of pesticides used in GM soy crops are numerous and to an extent still unclear. The most relevant concern to effect of chemicals on the surrounding ecosystems and on human health.

Pesticides have to be sprayed in more quantities and more frequently because weeds develop and become resistant to the chemicals applied. This not only leads to changes in soil biomass composition, soil chemistry and nutrient availability but also to causes a decline in the overall biodiversity across the ecosystem. From the human health perspective, expert Alavanja proved that population living around GM soy cropland in Argentina are already experiencing the negative impact of the toxicity of glyphosate. 

A short documentary on the impact of soybean agriculture 

on some indigenous communities

A constructive debate

Having considered some of the negative implications of GM soy, it becomes quite evident that most of the literature regards GM soy as an unsustainable choice for the future of agriculture. Nevertheless the debate around genetically modified crops and the associated research can be at times biased and a level of discussion should be maintained in order to avoid polarisation in the argument.

Cover of the original report by the GM Soy Debate

In order to achieve a balanced debate, in 2008 the Plant Research International of Wageningen University established the GM Soy Debate, whose objective is to summarize scientific and balanced arguments pro and against GM soybean mass production. The report they produced evaluates the claims that are often made about GM soybean production, with particular reference to Latin American agriculture.

1. GM soy yield is higher than non-GM soy

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2. GM soy leads to a change in pesticides application

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3. GM soy causes the development of herbicide-resistant weeds

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4. GM soy aggravates problems in the control of volunteer soybean in subsequent crops

________

5. GM soy encourages direct drilling/ zero tillage

________

6. GM soy allows farmers to perform mono-cropping on their land

________

7. GM soy has a significant effect on biodiversity in the surrounding ecosystem

________

8. GM soy can easily spread to non-GM soybean croplands

________

9. GM traits in soy can spread and persist outside agricultural fields

________

10. GM soy facilitates the expansion of soy production into natural areas

________

11. GM soy affects the genetic diversity of soy varieties in Latin America

________

12. GM soy changes the scale of soy farming in Latin America

________

The debate considers twelve of the most common public assumptions of the environmental impacts of GM soy  (summarized above) and reached three constructive conclusions. Firstly, the GM soybeans do not require less pesticide than non-GM. This finding endorses the arguments proposed by Charles Benbrook.  

Secondly, the ecological impact of higher levels of herbicides applications without doubt leads to a shift in biodiversity at a regional scale. Finally given similar nutrient and water availability, yields of GM and non-GM soybean crops are not significantly different.

In conclusion, there is a wide amount of scientific research as well as not-so-scientific debate over the impacts of GM soybean. A rather complex topic is often made more impenetrable by biased media coverage and uninformed arguments so if you are looking into finding out more about this I would thoroughly recommend you follow the GM Soy Debate. 

Despite being pro GM crops, I believe that the way at which GM soy in particular is cultivated across the world is inherently unsustainable and could lead to harmful implications in the near future, threatening not only food security but also human health as a whole.

Remember that you should never take anything as a given fact, not even this blog post. So feel free to disagree and don’t be scared to let me know your opinion on this debate in the comment section below!