Mention Thanksgiving and most Americans automatically think about tables overflowing with food. As a farmer, I know this country's founders often dealt with pests, predators or weather that destroyed crucial crops, straining the security of entire communities.
Agriculture in the United States today little resembles the subsistence farming of the early settlers. Technological innovations over the centuries have helped American farmers produce one of the safest, most bountiful and least expensive food supplies in the world.
Biotechnology is one of the latest innovations. My fellow farmers and I are already using biotech strains of corn, cotton and potatoes with built-in protection against pests and disease. Biotech crops have enabled me to use less pesticide and to better control soil erosion, so I can enhance my stewardship of the land.
My experiences encourage me about the potential of new biotech crops that could help prevent some forms of cancer or heart disease, or reduce saturated fats in our diets.
A rigorous system of research and review helps to ensure these benefits can be enjoyed safely. Biotech foods are subject to the same strict standards of dietary and environmental safety as other foods, and regulatory oversight includes three federal agencies as well as state and local authorities.
This Thanksgiving season is an ideal time to remember how far food production has come since the first settlers landed on Plymouth Rock, and just how far biotechnology might take us in the centuries to come.
BARRY EVANS, Kress Via e-mail
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