The Harmful Effects of GMOs on Small-Farm Farmers
Small Farms around the US have been overpowered by the large corporate farms who have taken all the attention of agriculture-technology companies. Large corporate farms have the money to purchase large quantities of GM seeds, which are very expensive, but are bought by the large farms at a very large quantity, which is usually a better price in the end. However, the small farms are not able to afford this and even if they decided to try out GMOs, it creates an economical burden for them.
GMO Popularity
The graph here shows how many million hectares of GMOs were grown over the years. The amount of GMOs grown increased almost 100 fold over the course of 10 years, showing just how popular it is among the large corporate farms who have plenty of money. However, as the amount of farms using GMOs increases, the amount of small farms in the US is decreasing from being pushed out by competition.
Financial Troubles
Small farmers who have tried to use GMOs eventually found out that it just lowered the value of their products, causing even more financial troubles. Cows who have been modified to make more milk have led to a lowered price of their milk while chicken eggs aren't produced as much from modifications in hens.
Cross-Pollination
Even though many small farms will abstain from using GMOs, their organic products may soon be unable to maintain organic. As wind and other organisms carry pollen around, GMOs and organic plants might breed by accident and lead to a group of originally organic plants to also become partly genetically modified. Although it may not be noticeable at first or seem so much of an issue, the long term effects could be disastrous. Buyers for the fruits (supermarkets, etc.) may not want a farm's fruits because they have accidentally cross-pollinated and could lead to even more financial struggle and issues to keep organic plants "purely organic".