Saving the world from nuclear power, elephant poaching and devastation of the rain forest are just a few examples of popular causes. The newest celebrity cause is to oppose commercial agriculture in favor of returning to “all-natural” food.

The problem is that proponents of all-natural food differ on the definition of all-natural. Some believe all-natural means banning genetically modified organisms (GMO) – that is, crops in which DNA has been manipulated to improve performance or resistance to diseases or insects. Others believe all-natural means using no chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. Still others believe the key factor is eliminating mega-farms.

It seems the loudest hubbub has been over claims that GMO plants produce food that is allegedly unsafe for us to eat. Some consumers demand organic (another term people can’t agree on) foods, generally meaning food produced without GMO seed and insecticides and with strict adherence to organic food production regulations.

These consumers miss the fact that GMO seeds eliminate the need for tons and tons of potentially toxic organophosphates, formerly used to control root worms, cut worms and a host of other insect predators. GMO seeds while growing are genetically-engineered to resist these pests.

Here are a couple of other agricultural inputs that reduce the use of toxic chemicals:

• Pyrethrins, which are organic insecticides synthesized from the Chrysanthemum family of plants in Persia and Dalmatia.
• Corn gluten meal, a by-product of high-fructose corn syrup production. It is commonly used as cattle feed but also can be used as a fertilizer and as an effective herbicide that controls crabgrass in your lawn.

Now let’s get down to how silly this whole all natural mindset can be.

Many grocery shoppers buy seedless watermelons in the summer. Even though seedless melons lack the full flavor of a seeded watermelon, most everyone – at least the well-mannered among us – appreciates not having to spit seeds or pick them out before taking a big, juicy bite.

But have you ever considered seedless watermelon for what it is? It’s a GMO product! It is produced by cross-pollinating the blooming female watermelon flower, which contains 44 chromosomes, with a male blooming watermelon flower, which contains 22 chromosomes. The result: a sterile watermelon with 33 chromosomes.

The fruit of such a genetically-altered melon plant has only a few small white seeds, as opposed to the full-sized black seeds of a conventional watermelon. The sterile, seedless watermelon is analogous to the mule, which is a cross between a donkey and a horse. Mules make great work animals. They exhibit intense endurance while requiring less feed. But there is one complicating side-effect to their breeding. A mule is sterile because it has an odd number of chromosomes, just like the seedless watermelon.

Of course, it’s no news to you good members of the agricultural community that we humans have been altering the genetic makeup of plants and animals for years. It just seems to take our city cousins by surprise.

And the GMO naysayers are inconsistent in their don’t-fool-mother-nature stance. Many of the people who rail against GMO crops own, or aspire to own, designer dogs. They cross the Maltese breed of dog with a poodle to get Malta-poo puppies, Labrador retriever with a poodle to get a Labra-doodle, or dachshund with a Yorkshire terrier to get a Dorkie. No “Heinz-57” for them. These dog owners create a genetic plan to produce a crossbred dog, even when, as is often the case, the desired pet traits fail to work out.

Even worse, some breeders are breeding these outcrosses to create bigger, more aggressive beasts for macho owners who want a dog that is tougher than a Rottweiler or Staffordshire terrier (pit bull).

But where is the public outcry about these dogs? There is only an outcry when someone is mauled – then only at the local level.

The nationwide outrage is saved for designer plants, which are developed to resist herbicides, insects and fungus. These GMO plants are an integral part of modern agriculture’s quest for more sustainable crop production practices that reduce use of chemicals and fuel-consuming tillage. And that’s not to mention increasing yields to feed our world’s ever-growing population.

Much of society has lost touch with our roots in agriculture. We need to strive to continue improving our food supply and sustainability and not lose touch of a very basic premise: It is agriculture’s charge to feed our society, not only now, but in the future as the world demand for food reaches new heights.