Over the last 20 years, GE has been touted as a technology that can increase the productivity, or yield, of food crops. According to UCS research, however, this claim has limited validity. After reviewing the findings of controlled field experiments that assessed GE’s contribution to soybean and corn yields in the United States, we found that GE has had only a marginal impact in increasing crop yields. Much greater yield gains were achieved during the same time frame using methods including both conventional crop breeding and marker-assisted breeding (a non-GE biotechnology that can identify desired traits in crops and does not use genes from unrelated species).

In our view, the limited success of GE in producing traits that increase yield is an important deficiency in a technology touted as an effective response to the world food crisis. Promoting GE crops for that purpose in developing countries—where increased yields are most needed—is therefore disingenuous. While GE crops need not be excluded from the mix of technologies available to the developing world, research funding and technology transfer should emphasize conventional breeding, organic farming, and other agricultural system improvements that have actually been proven to increase crop productivity.

To learn more about our research findings and recommendations, visit the UCS website at www.ucsusa.org/failuretoyield.