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Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 9d

This isn’t a promise.
It’s already happening.

Bt brinjal is one of the most successful real-world GMO case studies.

More countries should learn from Bangladesh.

🔁 Share this if you believe in science-based farming. 11/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 9d

What if Europe allowed this too?

Instead of banning gene editing…
We could grow more with less and protect farmers.

And reduce our pesticide footprint.
But ideology still blocks innovation. 10/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 9d

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Bt brinjal in Bangladesh delivers:

✅ More yield.
✅ Less pesticide.
✅ More income.
✅ Fewer sprays.
✅ No trade-offs.

All thanks to a small genetic tweak. 9/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 9d

NO YIELD TRADE-OFF:

Critics often say GMOs trade off nutrition or quality.
But here, the market price of Bt brinjal was similar or slightly better.

No penalty. No rejection. Just better results. 8/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 9d

INCOME: +69% HIGHER PROFIT

Bt brinjal farmers earned 90,708 BDT/ha.
Non-Bt farmers earned 53,217 BDT/ha.

That’s a $340 per hectare difference in local currency.
Big deal for smallholders. 7/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 9d

PESTICIDE: -40% LESS

Bt brinjal required far fewer insecticide sprays.
Why?

The plant already protects itself.

This means:
🟢 Lower costs.
🟢 Lower exposure. 6/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 9d

YIELD: +43% MORE

Bt brinjal farmers harvested 19.67 tons/ha.
Non-Bt farmers got 13.75 tons/ha.
That’s a massive jump from just one trait change. 5/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 9d

Study Design:

✔️ 300 farmers
✔️ 150 growing Bt brinjal
✔️ 150 growing non-Bt brinjal
✔️ Surveyed on yield, input costs, pesticide use, and profits. 4/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 9d

Enter: Bt brinjal This is a genetically modified eggplant.

It produces a natural protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) that kills FSB. 3/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 9d

Location: Pabna District, Bangladesh.

Brinjal (eggplant) is a major crop here.
But pests like the fruit and shoot borer (FSB) cause major losses. 2/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 9d

What happens when farmers plant GMOs?

A new study from Bangladesh shows the answer:

⬆️More yield.
⬇️Less pesticide.
⬆️Higher income.

Let’s unpack the data 🧵1/

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Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 10d

Bottom line:
We need to power the future.
We need to feed the future.

That means embracing the tools that work.

☢️ Nuclear
🌽 GMOs

Science is not the enemy.
It’s our only way forward. 9/

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Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 10d

The only thing standing in the way?

🚫 Outdated ideologies
🚫 Anti-science movements
🚫 Fear-based politics

The planet can’t afford that anymore. 8/

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Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 10d

We don’t need magical new solutions.

We already have:

✅ Clean, scalable power
✅ Precise, sustainable farming tools

They’re called nuclear and GMOs.
And they’re ready right now. 7/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 10d

What are the real risks?

⚠️ Burning more coal and gas because we shut down nuclear.
⚠️ Plowing more forests and using more pesticides because we banned biotech.

We’re not avoiding danger.
We’re creating it — by rejecting innovation. 6/

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Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 10d

Let’s get this straight:

☢️ Nuclear is not dangerous.
It has the lowest death rate per kWh of any energy source — including wind and solar.

🌽 GMOs are not risky.
After 30 years, thousands of studies, and billions of meals:
No proven health harms.
Only benefits. 5/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 10d

Both nuclear and GMOs have been victims of the same script:

🔻 Decades of fear-mongering
🔻 Cherry-picked horror stories
🔻 “Natural is better” fallacies
🔻 Political paralysis
🔻 Activist lawsuits

The result?
We blocked the very technologies that could save lives. 4/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 10d

Food demand is also rising fast.
We need to grow more food using less land, less water, and fewer resources.

GMOs help us do that.

But instead of celebrating them, we ban them —
While hunger, emissions, and prices rise. 3/

Simon Maechling, PhD @simonmaechling.bsky.social · 10d

Energy use is surging.
AI, data centers, electric cars, industrial growth.
We’re going to need 2x more electricity by 2050.

Yet we’re shutting down nuclear —
The cleanest, safest, and most reliable energy source ever invented.

Why? 2/