New York City, Los Angeles, and a small Arkansas town...What do these geographically and culturally diverse locations have in common? A first glance would lead you to believe they have nothing in common, but after a closer investigation, one common tie can be found. Each location whether metropolitan or rural, is affected by America’s leading industry, agriculture. When a family gathers for a Sunday dinner of steak and potatoes, they are reaping the benefits of American farmers. When a vegetarian searches the grocery store isles in search of non-meat products, he or she is facing the effects of American farmers and their agriculture products. In short, American farmers’ are responsible for supplying American’s with their daily bread baskets. As president George W. Bush stated in a recent forum pertaining to America’s nutritional needs, “Food is the foundation of everyone’s security.” No statement could be truer.

Although most American’s simply run to the grocery store and purchase a loaf of bread or a carton of milk, they do not think about where these products come from or who produced them. As scientific technology is expanding by leaps and bounds, so t

oo has agriculture and the methods used to produce the ever increasing demand for use of farm commodities. The rate at which biotechnology in agriculture has swept the U.S. farmland--and beyond--is simply unbelievable. China alone will plant over a million acres of genetically modified cotton. More than half of Canada’s canola crop this year will be genetically modified.

Consumers have responded to the increase in GM food with challenging questions such as the expected effects of GM food use. The enthusiasm is far from unanimous. For instance, two years ago when protein from Starlink corn was found to have a possible human allergen, over 300 corn products were recalled--everything from Taco Bell taco shells to various corn chips and other snacks sold by Kroger and Safeway. Food companies shelled out $9 million in order to settle the consumer class action suit for this case.

One fact is clear though, whether farmers ponder the decision of planting transgenic crops or consumers debate over purchasing select food items, bringing GM food to the American table is creating anticipation of positive benefits--better nutritional, pharmacological, and product qualities--that are promised in the future. Obviously food is still “the foundation of everyone’s security” and is still “at the heart of a growing America.”

The herbicide-tolerant, insect-resistant seed creates the need for decreased chemical application, but GM seed usually costs a considerable amount more than traditional seed along with the technology fees that are acquired. The question arises of whether the benefits are more justified than the costs in using the genetically altered crops. In order to clearly define the economic benefits created by GM seed use, several variables must be examined in order to see the real impact on production versus profit. Factors include farm size, operator education and experience, seed price, debt-to-assets ratio, use of marketing or production contracts, irrigation, crop price, use of consultants, and pest pressure. The results o

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