Are there benefits from current GE crops?
The benefits from GE crops are sometimes difficult to determine. However, several benefits seem well substantiated. The use of Bt cotton in several regions of the United States has substantially reduced the use of broad-spectrum and highly poisonous insecticides. Thus, Bt cotton provides significant environmental benefits because it has a less detrimental effect on the environment than the pesticides it replaces. Similar benefits have been documented when Bt cotton has been used in China and other countries. Herbicide-tolerant soybeans have simplified farming for farmers, saving them time and allowing them to attend to other matters. Those the evidence is mixed, the use of herbicide-resistant soybeans may have contributed to the adoption of conservation tillage, which conserves soil which is more easily eroded when fields are conventionally cultivated. In addition to conservation tillage, GE soybeans require on average about one less application per year compared to other herbicides. T
