By 2050, the world population will exceed 10 billion people, and these folks are going to need to eat. “It’s not about us; it’s about our kids and grandkids when it comes to food security around the world,” says Fraley.
 

“In order to meet increased demand for U.S. beef, we will need the production capacity (of corn) of another Illinois,” he says. “In 2015, we produced 2.0 billion bushels of corn, but by 2050, we’ll need 2.8 billion bushels of corn to raise enough beef to meet the growing demand.”
 

What are some of the greatest advancements in food technology? Fraley says the biggest achievement is how dramatically breeding has improved. Agriculture can now improve plants and animals gene-by-gene.
 

“Today there are 30 countries around the world raising GMO crops, which has helped raise yields by reducing weed and insect pressure,” he says. “We’ve probably grown 4.4 billion acres of GMO crops since 1996. What’s more, GMO crops are grown on one-quarter of the world’s farm land.”
 

“GMOs are the most thoroughly studied food products ever,” Fraley says. Despite the public outcry of the dangers of GMOs, “they offer huge benefits with improved yields, reducing the needs for pesticides and insecticides. And it’s important to note that there hasn’t been a single incident of a food safety issue from GMOs.”
 

For folks who think GMOS aren’t natural, think about this: “The human genome has been carefully studied by scientists, and all people contain between 100-200 genes from other species,” says Fraley. “It turns out that GMOs are pretty natural.”
 

Did you know that there are 50 billion microbes in 1 tablespoon of soil? “A soil fungus or bacterium grows on the roots and makes nutrients such as phosphate or nitrogen available for plant use,” explains Fraley. “Yield increases are possible due to superior nutrient uptakes in the plant’s early-life stage.”
 

“Everything we eat today was adapted and modified from foods around the world to grow in the U.S.,” adds Fraley.
 

“We need to work to bridge the gap between science and society,” he says. “About 37% of the public thinks GMOs are safe, but almost 97% of AAAS scientists believe GMOs are safe. Meanwhile, 28% of consumers believe its safe to eat foods grown with pesticides, while 68% of AAAS scientists believe they are safe.”
 

“In everything Monsanto has been focused on, we just haven’t taken the time to reach out to our consumers,” Fraley concludes. “We need to listen. We need to engage. We need to communicate in the way the public wants to get the information.”