According to a new study to be presented at the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting in Boston next week, banning GMOs could cause food prices to rise by more than 2% and greenhouse gas emissions to significantly increase.
The production and use of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) is one of the most controversial agricultural topics worldwide.
“There are people that would like to ban GMOs,” said Wally Tyner, a Purdue University economist. “We wanted to see what the result of a ban would be when it comes to food prices and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.”
An abstract from the paper concludes:
“Here the goal is to contribute to the literature on the benefits of GMO technology by estimating the impacts on price, supply, and welfare. Food price impacts range from an increase of 0.27% to 2.2%, depending on the region.
“Total welfare losses associated with loss of GMO technology total up to $9.75 billion. The loss of GMO traits as an intensification technology has not only economic impacts, but also environmental ones.
“The full environmental analysis of GMO is not undertaken here. Rather we model the land use change owing to the loss of GMO traits and calculate the associated increase in GHG emissions. We predict a substantial increase in GHG emissions if GMO technology is banned.”
Source: growingproduce.com
