Since Mendel's theory of inheritance was adapted by the agriculture industry and the FDA approved consumption of the first genetically modified food in 1982, the price of popular seeds has gradually increased. The biggest growth has occurred in the last 25 years, as noted in the graph and in an article by farmaid, "USDA data show that the per-acre cost of soybean and corn seed spiked dramatically between 1995 and 2014, by 351% and 321%, respectively." The price of soybean and corn in groceries stores will not increase tremendously. These products will continue to undergo typical societal inflation along with other produce. The purpose of this article is to shine light on the growing difficulties smaller farmers will face to obtain enough seed to fill their acres of land. Corporate agriculture companies like Monsanto, DuPont, Syngenta, and Dow can afford these spiking prices in seeds because they are the ones raising the prices. The "Big Four" companies own 70% of the soybean market and 80% of the corn market. This dominance unequivocally makes it harder for the small-market farmer to obtain and grow corn and seed in their fields.
https://www.farmaid.org/issues/gmos/gmos-top-5-concerns-for-family-farmers/
https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetically-modified-organisms-gmos-transgenic-crops-and-732/
With genetically modified foodstuffs becoming such a staple in our everyday diets, it's easy to forget how farmers are impacted by the competitive market of seeds for these crops. It's disappointing to see how small farmers are negatively affected by spikes in seed prices caused by big companies. I hope this will situation will change soon.
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