Propagandists are harping on the claim that genetic modification increases yields, which is why it's supposed to replace everything else in agriculture. And how dare anyone deprive the "developing" world of such a boon in agriculture, when a billion people are starving.

Genetic modification does not have the purpose of increasing yields; it's purpose with corn and soybeans is convenience. With golden rice, the purpose is to add vitamin A. Supposedly, all good things support each other, and you get an increase in yield along with the rest of the package. Nothing could be more fraudulent. Yields are devastated by the process of genetic modification.

The fakery falls back on the implication that improvement of something is the purpose, so why wouldn't it increase yields. There are many reasons why. For one, the convenience of doing more spraying replaces the normal practice of cultivation.

Normally weeds are killed through a process of cultivation, which means going over the field with equipment which stirs the top of the ground. It not only kills weeds of all types, it greatly improves growing conditions by breaking up the crust on the surface, which allows air and water in and prevents evaporation through capillary action. When spraying only, the hard crust increases on the surface of the ground and greatly diminishes yields.

Another problem is that the process of genetic modification is not compatible with the process of hybridization. Hybridization is absolutely essential for corm. It is an exacting process which cannot be done improperly. Yet it cannot be combined properly with genetic modification.

Here's what happens: Genetic modification is an injection of genes randomly into the genome (combination of all genes on all chromosomes). There is no way to determine where all of the modifications occur. Visual observation of the end result is the only test. Along with the desired result, thousands of gene insertions occur which are not recognized with crude methods of examination; and they cannot be prevented, because there is no way to limit the inserted genes to the desired purpose.

Hybridization is a totally different process, where two parental types, which tend to be totally nonfunctional separately, are combined to create a group of genes which are vastly superior to any natural combination. Getting the right parental types to combine into the desired result is a tedious process of trial and error which takes many years of testing. The resulting hybrid will not re-grow a second time. The seed must always be derived from the two odd parental types.

It's virtually impossible to get both parental types right for hybridization while genetically modifying through gene insertion. Both process are too critically aligned on their own demands. If it is right for one process, it is not right for the other. Hybridizing will typically required hundreds of possible parental types being compared. The gene insertion process will not produce the hundreds of parental options, and it contaminates the gene pool too thoroughly to get a good combination of genes.

On top of that, the genetic modifiers are dependent upon a flash-in-the-pan campaign of getting a product on the market rapidly. Not only does hybridizing require many years of testing parental combinations, the time would be extended immeasurably by adding an encumbrance which messes up a large part of the chromosomes.

So the genetic modifiers have to cut corners. In doing so, they get extremely unpredictable results and never an optimum result by all criteria. This is why some farmers get seed which does not grow. Why would it not be tested before it is sold? The manufacturers do not even spend one year testing the result before selling it, let along go through the many years of development that normal hybridizing requires.

Even when the seed grows, the result is trash compared to the high standard that is expected of normal hybrids. Trash means, the roots might be rising above the ground, the ears of corm might form on top of the stalk instead of on the side, too many ears might form per stalk, so they are all small, and any number of hidden problems could be expected at the physiological level.

Why do farmers plant such trash? In this country, where there are a lot of options, it allows farmers to reduce labor, so one person can handle more acres. Also, it allows commercial operators to do more of the work, when spraying replaces cultivation. Then it takes awhile to see the result and determine that it is not due to bad weather but bad seed. Eventually, genetic modification will be viewed as the craziest thing to enter agriculture. But until then, it is being sold as holy communion from Mother Teresa.