Those figures were mostly proven bogus by reality, as plans with no knowledge of conditions on the ground failed when confronted with the wildly variable conditions of soil, weather and pests that farmers had spent a lifetime learning to cope with.

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As a congressman, senator and vice president, he worked relentlessly toward creating disincentives to the development, testing and use of innovative, safe and potentially important technologies--especially biotechnology applied to agriculture, which has been instrumental in enhancing yields, reducing losses from pests and encouraging farming practices that prevent carbon dioxide release from tilling soil.

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