“¿Quién se beneficia con los cultivos transgénicos?”

This report by Friends of the Earth International examines the socio-economic and environmental impacts of GM crops, specifically focusing on the dominance of a few corporations like Monsanto. It argues that GM technology does not solve hunger, as most crops are used for animal feed or biofuels in wealthy nations. The document highlights a trend of increasing pesticide use and the emergence of herbicide-resistant weeds in the US, Argentina, and Brazil. It further claims that GM crops often result in lower yields than conventional varieties and suggests that agroecological and organic farming are more effective alternatives for food security.

• Genetically modified crops are not a solution for global hunger because hunger is primarily caused by poverty—including lack of access to land, credit, and technical support—rather than a lack of food production.
• The vast majority of GM crops are not intended for the poor; they are primarily used as animal feed, biofuels, or highly processed foods in wealthy countries, with 80% of the area in 2007 concentrated in the US, Argentina, and Brazil.
• GM crops do not increase productivity; in some cases, such as Roundup Ready soybeans, they have shown lower yields than conventional varieties due to unintended effects of the genetic modification process.
• The adoption of GM crops has led to a significant increase in pesticide use and the development of herbicide-resistant weeds, creating a cycle where companies develop new GM seeds to tolerate even higher doses of chemicals.
• Biotechnology companies, particularly Monsanto, maximize profits through 'trait penetration,' increasing seed prices by adding multiple genetic traits and raising the cost of associated herbicides like Roundup.
• In the European Union, GM crop cultivation is minimal and declining, representing only 0.21% of cultivable land in 2008, with France prohibiting the MON810 maize variety.
• International assessments, such as the IAASTD, suggest that returning to biologically diverse agroecological methods and small-scale organic farming is the most effective way to combat global hunger and poverty.

APA

Villar, J. L., Freese, B., Holder, H., Chandrasekaran, K., & Rodriguez, L. (2009). “¿Quién se beneficia con los cultivos transgénicos?”. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/foei-gmo-full-espanol.pdf

Chicago

Villar, Juan Lopez, Bill Freese, Helen Holder, Kirtana Chandrasekaran, and Lorena Rodriguez. “¿Quién se beneficia con los cultivos transgénicos?”. Friends of the Earth International, 2009. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/foei-gmo-full-espanol.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{villar2009quin, author = {Villar, Juan Lopez and Freese, Bill and Holder, Helen and Chandrasekaran, Kirtana and Rodriguez, Lorena}, title = {{“¿Quién se beneficia con los cultivos transgénicos?”}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2009}, month = feb, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/foei-gmo-full-espanol.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }