By Tobin Dyck, Ottawa Citizen, April 23, 2018
Chemicals changed the course of agriculture. They became available. Then they became affordable. And then they started to keep their promises, reducing input costs, improving weed/pest management and, ultimately, increasing production and profitability.
Genetics did the same. Advancements in breeding heralded the dawn of what many now colloquially refer to as GMOs, which have increased yields and protein content in crops and allowed food production to take place in previously infertile areas around the globe.
http://ottawacitizen.com/commodities/agriculture/still-use-chemicals-on-the-farm-this-year/wcm/3e0de1be-ff49-4543-b701-e94c7f7e6947