Institute For Responsible Technology By Jeffrey Smith: Article Summary

Jeffrey Smith’s blog post on the Institute For Responsible Technology (IRT) lists ten reasons why genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which are “plants and animals whose genes have been changed by scientists,” should be avoided. At the time of this blog post, research in eastern Quebec had recently discovered Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a spore forming bacterium that is toxic to many species of insects, in the blood of pregnant women and showed evidence that the toxin was passed to fetuses. As a consumer advocate, Smith promotes healthy non-GMO choices, and believes genetically engineered foods must urgently become our nation’s top food safety priority. He is the founding executive director of the Institute for Responsible Technology

Jeffrey Smith wrote this blog post using his own negative outlook on GMOs in the wake of the Bt toxin discovery in pregnant women and their unborn fetuses in eastern Quebec. Although his blog post does not directly mention this event, it only further supports Smith’s argument that GMOs should be avoided since this GM insecticide toxin had already showed up in fetal blood and could potentially have an untold impact on future generations. Smith is out to educate consumers about the ongoing health risks associated with consuming GMOs and “quickly reclaim a non-GMO food

The organization argues that “improved productivity from GMOs might mean that farmers in the next century will not have to bring so much marginal land into cultivation.” Smith actually claims the opposite in his blog post: “GMOs do not increase yields” (reason number nine). Specifically, Smith states the “sustainable non-GMO agricultural methods used in developing countries have conclusively resulted in yield increases of 79% and higher, GMOs do not, on average, increase yields at all.” One can conclude that by using GMOs, yields will continue to be the same, which producers will not benefit from. The agricultural industry depends on the increasing yields of crops to increase the overall market. Not only does the environment benefit from non-GMO use, but producers also see increased yields, which means more profit in the long