USFRA responds to: It’s Been Said: GMOs don’t actually decrease pesticide use, they increase it

More than a year ago, Virginia Farm Bureau joined the United States Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, agricultural groups at the national, regional and state levels that have collaborated to lead the dialogue and answer Americans’ questions about agriculture and how we raise our food. On their Web site, www.fooddialogues.com, they respond to questions from readers as well as articles from publications that may contain some misinformation about agriculture.

Recently, they responded to an article that appeared in the Huffington Post about GMOs and pesticides. Here is an excerpt from the article:

University of Washington agricultural scientist Charles Benbrook recently looked at the rate of pesticide use in the age of genetically engineered seeds, or GMOs. Benbrook’s results undercut one of the main arguments in favor of this technology — the idea that they have significantly brought down pesticide use. According to Benbrook’s analysis, since their introduction in the 1990s, pesticide use for commodity crops like corn and soy has actually increased by approximately 7 percent.

Benbrook claims that Monsanto and its herbicide-resistant RoundUp Ready product line — seeds engineered to withstand the herbicide RoundUp — had the opposite effect, encouraging farmers to use a single pesticide, ultimately to excess.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/04/pesticides-gmo-monsanto-roundup-resistance_n_1936598.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

From the Field: Agriculture’s Message in a Sound Bite Culture

From the Field is a bi-monthly column written by Mark Campbell, Farm Bureau Field Services Director for the Central District. He writes about Farm Bureau member benefits and County Farm Bureau activities.

For several years the agriculture community has worked on educating the general public about the production of food and fiber. This educational effort has received an increased emphasis from agribusinesses, food retailers, commodity groups, and agriculture organizations in the past two decades, but especially the most recent decade. The Internet and social media have facilitated the ability of anyone to put out information, pictures, and videos to the world in a matter of minutes.

Through social media, the information expands to readers and viewers exponentially. Information is great, but the crux of it is how to decipher the legitimate information from rumors, myths, or just plain made-up information. I am happy to say that many people in our community have really stepped up to the challenge of being an agriculture advocate.

So how do we get our message out amongst all of the other messages out there, and how do we counter misinformation that can be easily believable to a public that has much to learn about agriculture? The good news is that I believe the public is more informed about agriculture than they used to be. We have great advocates for agriculture that are doing a great job. Being an effective advocate means reaching outside of our community, being genuine, trustworthy, and transparent, and relatable. The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance has developed methods to help agriculturalists work on these things. I’m not saying that we are not trustworthy, genuine, or transparent; we have just had a hard time expressing it. We must remember that we are one of the steps in getting food on the plate. People want to know where their food comes from and how it was raised. So if you think of yourself as a food producer; it gives you a different perspective.

Virginia Farm Bureau joins U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance

The Virginia Farm Bureau recently joined the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, a newly formed alliance consisting of a wide range of prominent farmer- and rancher-led organizations and agricultural partners. This marks the first time agricultural groups at the national, regional and state levels have collaborated to lead the dialogue and answer Americans’ questions about how we raise our food – while being stewards of the environment, responsibly caring for our animals and maintaining strong businesses and communities.

USFRA recently held town hall meetings across the country to discuss concerns uncovered by surveys commissioned by USFRA, and answered questions from audience members and online participants.

The surveys found that Americans think about food production a lot, yet 72 percent of consumers say they know nothing or very little about farming or ranching. Many consumers think the United States is on the wrong track with regard to the way the nation produces food.