Genetically Modified Foods
"[the] alternatives to the chemical control of insects...are biological solutions, based on the understanding of the living organisms they seek to control and of the whole fabric of life to which these organisms belong. Specialists...are...pouring their knowledge and their creative inspirations into the formation of a new science of biotic controls.”
- silent spring Rachel Carson pg 278
- silent spring Rachel Carson pg 278
Benefits
http://www.thesleuthjournal.com/mysterious-deaths-in-alabama-could-they-be-related-to-monsanos-bt-cotton-crops/
"Last month a team of scientists reported in the prestigious journal, Nature, that widespread planting of Bt cotton in China drastically reduced the spraying of synthetic chemicals, increased the abundance of beneficial organisms and decreased populations of insects that damage the crop. Planting of Bt cotton also reduced pesticide poisonings of farmers and their families. This month, German researchers reported that farmers in India growing Bt cotton increased their yield by 24%, their profit by 50% and raised their living standards by 18%. (last sentence http://www.pnas.org/content/109/29/11652.full.pdf)
Limitations
"One limitation of using any insecticide, whether it is organic, synthetic, or genetically engineered, is that insects can evolve resistance to it. For example, one crop pest, the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), has evolved resistance to Bt toxins." - Tabashnik, B. E., 1994 Evolution of resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 39: 47–79.