The agrichemical industry is genetically engineering soil microbes to increase crop yields. This is a terrible idea because we can’t be sure how or where the modified genetic material will end up or how it might be altered. The innumerable microorganisms that live in the soil play profound roles in supporting life on this planet. Big Ag and Biotech are tinkering with profound forces about which we (and they) know very little. Given the complexity of the soil microbiome and the huge gaps in our knowledge about it, releasing GE microbes is an extremely risky and dangerous enterprise. What happens when they exchange genetic information with wild species? What if GE microbes travel to unintended locations, crowd out native microbial communities, and reduce the diversity of life in the soil? It’s like jumping into a well when it’s too dark to see what’s down there.
Big Ag cannot be allowed to put human and planetary health at risk. Write to Congress and the EPA, telling them to place an immediate moratorium on the outdoor release of GE microbes until such time that it has been established, beyond doubt, that the approach will not compromise the functionality of agricultural soils, harm human health, or comprise agricultural or natural ecosystems.