Despite the fact that the first GM crop
was commercialized in the US in 1994, it
was not until 1996 that significant numbers
of GM crops were planted. Over the next few
years, GM crops multiplied at a rapid rate,
and by 2003 there were over 60 million
hectares under GM cultivation around the
world. Nevertheless, in 2002 only three
countries accounted for 95 percent of this
total area: the US (66 percent), Argentina
(23 percent) and Canada (6 percent). More
than 40 genetically modified crop varieties
are currently authorized for
commercialization in the US . The four most
popular are corn, soybeans, cotton and
canola. Two traits (or qualities) –
herbicide tolerance (HT) and insect
resistance (Bt) – have been engineered into
these commodity crops, which have proven
very popular with US farmers and have been
widely adopted. Biotech giant Monsanto is
the lead producer of GM crops, followed by
DuPont/Pioneer, Syngenta, and
Dow/Mycogen
tolerating
herbicides
Almost two-thirds of the GM crops grown
on a commercial basis in the United States
have been modified to tolerate certain
herbicides or weed killers. Crops such as
corn, soy and canola have been genetically
engineered to withstand otherwise lethal
doses of chemical pesticides. Farmers can
therefore douse their fields with
herbicides without having to worry about
killing their crops.
Soybean growers appear to have been won
over by the convenience of using glyphosate
instead of older herbicides. Glyphosate,
better known by its trade name Roundup, is
a herbicide first introduced in 1974 by
Monsanto. Roundup was advertised as safe,
effective and relatively benign,
environmentally speaking. It became a
popular tool in no-till farming, a practice
in which farmers spray weeds rather than
plowing the ground. In 2001, Roundup Ready
soybeans accounted for 75 percent of all
soybeans planted in the US . That same
year, some 33 million pounds of glyphosate
were sprayed on soybean crops alone
throughout the country, a fivefold increase
from 1995 according to the US Department of
Agriculture.
Companies claim that insect-resistant
cotton in the US has led to substantial
reductions in pesticide use for certain
insects. Bt corn has also become quite
popular, as it seems to boost yields in
fields plagued by the damaging European
corn borer. However, letting the GM genie
out of the bottle has also allowed other
less benign impacts of tinkering with food
to manifest themselves (see page 12).
Monsanto generates around 50 percent of
its annual sales from Roundup herbicide.
Critics point out that the use of
glyphosate on millions of acres of crops
will intensify resistence in weeds
unrelated to soybeans. As weeds become
resistant, farmers will have to use more
glyphosate, leading to unsustainable
intensive chemical use.
resisting pests
Second in acreage to herbicide-resistant
crops, insect-resistant ‘pesticide plants'
are engineered to produce a toxin in their
tissues, the edible grain included.
‘Pesticide plants' are produced by
‘shooting' a ‘gene gun' loaded with a
toxin-producing gene taken from a soil
bacterium – Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) –
directly into the tissues of corn, canola,
potato and cotton plants to render them
poisonous to insects. About 25 percent of
the US corn crop is now planted with Bt
varieties. Proponents of genetic
engineering argue that Bt crops will reduce
the need for pesticides and therefore
alleviate stress on the environment.
Opponents, including some scientists, argue
that the Bt toxin may be a human allergen
and that more testing is warranted..
Companies claim that insect-resistant
cotton in the US has led to substantial
reductions in pesticide use for certain
insects. Bt corn has also become quite
popular, as it seems to boost yields in
fields plagued by the damaging European
corn borer. However, letting the GM genie
out of the bottle has also allowed other
less benign impacts of tinkering with food
to manifest themselves (see page 12).
US-based Monsanto is the world's
largest producer of GM crops. 90 percent of
the area under biotech cultivation
worldwide has been sowed with the company's
GM tolerant and pest-resistent
variaties.
