failure to yield Biotechnologys Broken Promises

The Union of Concerned Scientists finds that genetic engineering has contributed minimally to U.S. crop yield increases, with the majority of gains attributed to traditional breeding and other agricultural methods. The briefing distinguishes between intrinsic yield (potential) and operational yield (actual), concluding that GE crops have not increased intrinsic yield and provided only marginal operational gains, primarily in specific insect-resistant corn varieties. It advocates for shifting research and funding toward traditional breeding, genomic approaches, and agro-ecological farming, particularly for developing regions.

• Genetic engineering has not increased the intrinsic yield of any crops; increases in the intrinsic yields of corn and soybeans during the twentieth century were the result of traditional breeding.
• Herbicide-tolerant (HT) GE soybeans and corn have not increased operational yields in the United States on a per-acre or national basis when compared to conventional methods using available herbicides.
• Insect-resistant Bt corn provides a modest operational yield advantage of 7–12 percent only during high insect infestations, resulting in an average yield increase of just 3–4 percent across all corn acres.
• The vast majority of U.S. corn yield increases since the early 1990s are due to non-GE methods; of a 28 percent increase in per-acre production, GE is responsible for only 14 percent of that increase, or 4 percent of the total yield increase.
• Non-GE plant breeding and farming methods have increased yields of major grain crops by 13–25 percent, including a 13 percent increase in wheat yields despite the absence of commercial GE varieties.
• Despite thousands of experimental field trials since 1987, including over 650 specifically targeting yield, very few yield-enhancing GE varieties have successfully advanced to commercialization.
• Low-external-input and organic farming methods are presented as more promising alternatives, with some U.S. experiments showing non-GE soybeans producing yields 13 percent higher than GE soybeans.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2009). failure to yield Biotechnologys Broken Promises. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/failure-to-yield-brochure.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. failure to yield Biotechnologys Broken Promises. 2009. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/failure-to-yield-brochure.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=failure to yield Biotechnologys Broken Promises |date=July 2009 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/failure-to-yield-brochure.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2009failure, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{failure to yield Biotechnologys Broken Promises}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2009}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-10/failure-to-yield-brochure.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }