Organic farms buried by GMO costs

The newest data on the organic sector has recently been released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It featured results from a survey of organic farmers at the beginning of this year, and one not-so-surprising confirmation was made: Even though the sales are going up for organic produce, the number of organic farms continues to dwindle.

A deeper look into the report reveals that GMO crops are hoisting serious financial burdens upon organic farmers. It is rather simple; GMO crops can very easily infiltrate organic crops through cross-pollination, and seed or grain mixing post-harvest. Organic farmers must take serious (and costly) precautions to safeguard their products from becoming contaminated, if they want to bear the USDA Organic seal. Otherwise, they will lose the premium price tag, and there is no course of action to compensate them for their losses.

Food and Water Watch estimates that organic farmers have lost $66,395 per farmer between 2011 and 2014.

Sources:

foodandwaterwatch.org

gmo.news