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Science & Innovation

The most popular
farmers by increasing agricultural productivity matter and water-holding capacity by keeping
through disease resistance and improved weed the previous crop’s stubble in the ground.
management. In addition, the use of minimum tillage can
reduce the loss of greenhouse gases such as
The story of community attitudes towards nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide from cropping
GM crops is a little different. Putting aside the systems. Agricultural chemical use also has an
ethical conundrum of whether we should ever important role in insect and disease control in
manipulate ‘nature’ via genetic modification the horticultural sector, ensuring that more of the
or anything similar, the central narrative has food produced reaches the market. Increased
been that GM foods are perceived as risky sales of organic food in Australia in the last decade
in various senses. Although the fear of GM have been linked to a desire to avoid agricultural
foods, which heightened in the 1990s, seems chemicals because of concerns about their
to have lessened in recent years, many are still impact on human health and the environment,
concerned that GM foods represent unknown but there is also a perception among consumers
risks not really worth taking. GM is seen merely that organic food is tastier and more nutritious
as a way for “Big Ag” to increase profits rather than its conventional counterparts, making it
than something that is beneficial to the individual difficult to estimate actual levels of concern in
consumer (by making food more nutritious, for the community.
instance) or provides social benefits to farmers
more broadly. For many in the community, It seems as though those in the developed
uncertainty about benefits is reason enough to world – who have arguably gained the most
avoid consuming GM foods.

Access to Science, Technology,Innovation, Productivity and Profitability
But the links to large, multinational plant protection
companies is also a particularly dominant issue in
Australia, where the only GM food crop that has
been commercialized is a canola that has been
genetically modified to tolerate the herbicide
glyphosate, also known as Round Up™. While it is
true that in Australia multinationals are involved
in the development of GM crops, a quick look at
the licence applications to the Office of the Gene
Technology Regulator also shows that a number
of public institutions are also involved, and many
GM modifications are not related to herbicide
tolerance but are rather intended to provide
potential benefits for consumers, farmers and
the environment.

The link between GM crops and chemical use is
quite strong, with agricultural chemical use also
being an issue of concern in the community.
The use of pesticides in Australia has increased
in recent decades, in part due to the adoption of
‘minimum tillage’ in the grains sector.
Minimum tillage aims to increase soil health,
reduce soil erosion, and maintain soil organic

The Australian Farmer • Issue 2017