I was in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 Statistical Abstract of the United States recently for a client project and came across some interesting data about genetically engineered crops. I knew that such crops were big business, but I had no idea just how pervasive they’ve become.
The chart below will show you what I learned. Of all the corn planted in the U.S. as of 2010, 86 percent is genetically engineered. For cotton, the figure is 93 percent, and for soybeans, it’s also 93 percent. The engineering typically makes the plants resistant to insect pests, or it toughens the plants against herbicides that can then be sprayed on a crop to kill weeds while the crop itself lives.
I’ll leave it to you to decide for yourself how you feel about this. Today I’m just presenting the facts. Let me know whether you support or oppose the idea of genetically engineered crops.
