TRUTH ABOUT TRADE AND TECHNOLOGY
August 29, 2003
AgWeb.com
Tim Burrack
Via AgBioView at www.agbioworld.org
My parents, as farmers, weren't unhappy with their horses when they bought
their first tractor. They just knew the time had come to replace draft
animals with the latest technology.
I had a similar experience a few years ago when biotech soybeans came onto
the market. Before they arrived, I can't tell you how many hot summer days I
spent hand-pulling weeds in my bean fields. We used to hire as many kids as
we could get our hands on and spend whole summers protecting our crops.
Some people considered it back-breaking labor. For me, though, it was
knee-wrecking. At the age of 33, I was considering knee-replacement surgery
because my young bones couldn't put up with the grinding work. Then biotech
soybeans came along and saved my health-eliminating the need to "walk the
beans" as we soybean farmers call it.
That's why I want to say "thank you" to the people of Hawaii for their vital
role in agricultural biotechnology, which is making a huge impact on the
lives of mainland farmers.
I read the newspapers and know that biotechnology is under assault in
Hawaii. Just the other day I learned of a lawsuit filed against the state
government by anti-science activists whose ultimate goal is to kick
biotechnology off the islands.
This is incredibly shortsighted, because biotechnology is a fundamental part
of our future--in Hawaii and everywhere. What's more, Hawaii's unique
climate allows for outstanding kinds of corn and soybean seed research -
with state and federal oversight - that can't occur anywhere else in the
United States. As a result, agricultural biotechnology has become a
significant sector of the Hawaiian economy, which needs to rely on more than
just tourism dollars if it's going to thrive.
A lot of Hawaiians already know this, and I trust that Hawaiian farmers will
continue to remind their neighbors how important biotechnology is to them--a
classic case of doing well by doing good. Even here in Iowa, we've heard the
story of how biotechnology saved Hawaii's papaya industry from a terrible
bout with the deadly ringspot virus a few years back.
I hope Hawaiians also appreciate how much their fellow Americans depend on
them as well.
Just as my parents were grateful for the engineers who designed the first
affordable tractors and the assembly-line workers who built them, I feel a
deep sense of debt to the Hawaiian public for letting biotechnology thrive.
I could go on about my "now good" knees, but that isn't really the point.
Because of biotech crops, farmers everywhere are seeing their yields go up
and their lifestyles improving, having more time to spend with families and
much less time in the fields. That's good for everybody.
The environment is another beneficiary. By making agriculture more
productive, we're able to keep more open spaces and conserve more soil. In
the developing world, governments face intense pressure to feed growing
populations by converting rainforests into cropland. Biotechnology allows
existing fields to produce greater amounts of food. Indeed, agricultural
biotechnology is on its way to becoming a cornerstone of conservation
strategy in the 21st century.
The next generation of biotech crops will be about more than yields, weed
and pest control, and the environment--it will be about human health.
Cutting-edge researchers are now looking at crops that can help us live
longer and healthier by lowering our cholesterol and keeping our hearts in
good shape. It sounds like science fiction, but soon it will be science fact
- and Hawaii is playing a major role.
There's a lot of hysterical rhetoric in Hawaii about the supposed menace of
genetically modified crops. The people making these arguments are exactly
wrong, because there's never been any evidence anywhere showing that biotech
crops are bad for anybody. They are deceiving people and instilling
unnecessary fear.
I don't mean to sound like a guy in a white lab jacket. I'm an ordinary
farmer in Iowa. What I can say from direct personal experience is that
biotechnology has improved my life as a farmer and an American. The future
is even more promising. I know that Hawaii is playing an important part in
all of this, and I hope the sensible people of Hawaii will keep it that way.
For now, however, I'd just like to say one thing: Thank you Hawaii.
Truth About Trade and Technology (www.truthabouttrade.org) is a national
grassroots advocacy group based in Des Moines, IA formed by farmers in
support of freer trade and advancements in biotechnology.