Researchers Question Claims on GMO Crop Yields, Climate Resilience

Proponents of genetic engineering in agriculture have long argued that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) produce better crop yields than their natural counterparts. In recent years, GMOs have also been touted as being better for the climate and resistant to erratic weather. But some researchers dispute these claims, and public polling shows that consumers have mixed feelings about GMOs. Introduced into U.S. commercial agriculture in 1996, GMOs have been a point of controversy among farmers and environmental groups such as Greenpeace, while U.S. consumers have grown increasingly distrustful of the health consequences of eating genetically modified foods. In a 2019 Pew Research Center survey, 51 percent of respondents said they thought GMOs were worse for human health than non-GMOs, an increase from 39 percent in 2016. But 74 percent also said they believed GMOs were either “fairly likely” or “very likely” to increase the global food supply, and 62 percent said the same about GMOs allowing for more affordable food prices....