Research Library
Research and articles more about the many issues surrounding organic farming and foods. Please contact us if you have resources or reports to share with our readers.
Recent Research | Nutrition | Farming | Environment
Recent Research
Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use:
The First Thirteen Years
Charles Benbrook, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, The Organic Center
November 2009
Genetically-engineered corn, soybeans, and cotton now account for the majority of acres planted to these three crops. A model was developed that utilizes official, USDA pesticide use data to estimate the differences in the average pounds of pesticides applied on GE crop acres, compared to acres planted to conventional, non-GE varieties. Compared to pesticide use in the absence of GE crops, farmers applied 318 million more pounds of pesticides over the last 13 years as a result of planting GE seeds.
GE crops are pushing pesticide use upward at a rapidly accelerating pace. In 2008, GE crop acres required over 26% more pounds of pesticides per acre than acres planted to conventional varieties. The report projects that this trend will continue as a result of the rapid spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds.
Learn more and download report from The Organic Center
UPDATE January 2010: A Monsanto-funded research study echoes the results of this Organic Center report, concluding that herbicide resistance in weeds threatens the effectiveness of herbicide-tolerant GE crops.
Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of Genetically Engineered Crops
Union of Concerned Scientists, 2009
For years the biotechnology industry has trumpeted that it will feed the world, promising that its genetically engineered crops will produce higher yields. That promise has proven to be empty, according to Failure to Yield, a report by UCS expert Doug Gurian-Sherman released in March 2009. Despite 20 years of research and 13 years of commercialization, genetic engineering has failed to significantly increase U.S. crop yields.
That First Step: Organic Food and a Healthier Future
A Critical Issue Report from The Organic Center, March 2009
Overweight, obesity and diabetes are collectively the nation's number one public health problem. This "Critical Issue Report" describes six ways that organic food and farming can contribute to reversing current trends in overweight, obesity, and diabetes. But most important, the report explains why the conscious decision by individuals to purchase organic food marks a critical first step toward a healthier diet and lifestyle.
For many people, this first step is the beginning of a series of incremental changes with important, long-run health benefits for individuals, families, and society as a whole.
Simplifying the Pesticide Risk Equation: The Organic Option
The Organic Center, March 2008
Since the Center's 2004 "State of Science Review" (SSR) on pesticide residues in conventional and organic foods, new data and risk assessment methods have emerged that provide a basis to quantify the pesticide risk reduction benefits of organic farming. Our new SSR on pesticide residues and risk provides answers to frequently asked questions about relatively-high risk foods, as well as foods that pose no or modest dietary risks.Our findings are encouraging. By converting less than 3% of the nation's farmland to organic methods, pesticide dietary risks could be driven down to a fraction of today's levels.
Pesticide Exposures Increase Risk of Gestational Diabetes
Diabetes Care, Vol. 30, No. 3, March 2007.
Occupational exposure to pesticides during the first trimester of pregnancy more than doubles the risk of gestational diabetes.learn more
