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After 13 years of use on more than 2 billion acres (800 million hectares) worldwide, plant biotechnology delivers proven economic and environmental benefits, a solid record of safe use and promising products for our future. Following are key global facts about the advantages of genetically modified foods and crops:

• 13.3 million farmers — 90 percent of who farm in developing countries – choose to plant biotech crops.

  Farmers in 25 countries on six continents are using plant biotechnology to solve difficult crop production challenges and conserve the environment. Over the past decade, they’ve increased area planted in genetically modified (GM) crops by more than 10 percent each year, increased their farm income by more than US$44 billion (1996-2007), and achieved economic, environmental and social benefits in crops such as soybeans, canola, corn and cotton.

  To date, total acres of biotech crops harvested exceed more than 2 billion with a proven 13-year history of safe use. Over the next decade, expanded adoption combined with current research on 57 crops in 63 countries will broaden the advantages of genentically modified foods for growers, consumers and the environment.

• International regulatory standards for GM crops are affirmed by a decade of safe use.

  Biotech crops are among the most studied and reviewed foods in the world. Using well-established, internationally accepted standards of risk assessment, regulatory authorities worldwide have reviewed all biotech crops now on the market and determined that they pose no more risk than crops produced through traditional breeding methods.

  A proven 13-year history of safe use supports the conclusion that the regulatory process has been successful. Experts estimate more than 1 trillion meals containing ingredients from biotech crops have been consumed with no reliable documentation of any food safety issues for people or animals.

  Twenty-five Nobel Prize winners and 3,400 prominent scientists have expressed their support for the advantages and safety of genetically modified foods and crops as a “powerful and safe” way to improve agriculture and the environment. Numerous international organizations also have endorsed the health and environmental safety of biotech crops, including the Royal Society (UK), National Academy of Sciences (USA), the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the European Commission, the French Academy of Medicine, and the American Medical Association.

• 63 countries are conducting plant biotech research across 57 different crops.

  Each year, global population grows by more than 70 million, and agriculture is required to produce more food with limited land and water resources. Scientists believe biotechnology holds great potential to help farmers produce more food — and healthier food — with fewer resources.

  Over the next decade, biotechnology promises to deliver products that address land and resource limitations, such as improved drought tolerance, saline tolerance and increased yields. The research also will deliver products with direct consumer benefits such as enhanced nutrition, convenience and taste. For example:

  • Food ingredients in which the major allergenic proteins are modified or eliminated.
  • Rice enriched with beta-carotene, which stimulates production of vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency causes blindness in 500,000 children and up to 2 million deaths annually.
  • Plants that can tolerate stress from harsh environments — such as arid or saline soils, cold environments or low nutrient availability — and continue to produce food.

  Economists predict full adoption of GM crops globally would result in income gains of US$210 billion per year within the next decade, with the largest potential advantages of genetically modified foods and crops occurring in developing countries at a rate of 2.1 percent gross national product per year.

• Farmers have decreased pesticide applications by 359,000 metric tons -- a savings of 9 percent in pesticides (1996-2007).

  Consumers consistently rank a reduction in pesticide applications as the most valuable benefit of plant biotechnology — which is important since farmers have significantly reduced pesticide sprayings, while conserving the water and fuel otherwise depleted with tillage or plowing. The planting of biotech crops has reduced the "environmental footprint" of cotton, corn, soy and canola by 17.2 percent (1996-2007), as calculated using an established environmental index quotient (EIQ) that compares the potential impacts of pesticides applied in a conventional field to a field planted with a biotech crop.

  • Since 1996, the use of GM soybeans has been one of the largest contributors to reduced pesticide applications, accounting for cumulative reductions of 41,000 metric tons.
  • YieldGard corn rootworm is expected to eliminate one million plastic containers, 68,845 gallons of aviation fuel, 5 million gallons of water used in insecticide formulations, 5 million pounds of insecticide active ingredient, and 5 million gallons of diesel fuel per year.
  • Chinese farmers decreased pesticide applications on insect-protected (Bt) cotton by 57 percent, with reductions in reported pesticide poisonings.
  • Indian farmers averaged 3.68 pesticide applications in conventional cotton, compared to 0.62 applications in Bt cotton.
  • Annual reductions of 46 million pounds of pesticide have been recorded in the United States on four primary crops.
  • Australian farmers used 50 percent fewer pesticide applications on Bt cotton.
• GM crops benefit the environment and conserve natural habitat for wildlife.

  One of the advantages of gentecially modified foods and crops is the reduced need for tillage or plowing, allowing farmers to adopt conservation or “no-till” practices. In the United States alone, these practices and other conservation measures are reducing soil erosion by 1 billion tons and saving consumers $3.5 billion in water treatment costs annually.

  Biotech crops also have played an important role in boosting the productivity of existing farmland — enough to allow for the protection of at least 400 million acres of prairies, forests and other natural areas from cultivation over the past decade. These areas provide food and shelter for wildlife and preserve biodiversity.

• Farmers growing biotech crops increased their income by US$44 billion (1996-2007) -- half generated in industrial countries and half in developing nations.

  Farmers have increased income through higher yields and lower production costs — including fewer pesticide applications and the more efficient use of farm labor. Research indicates an increase in income is consistent worldwide with significant economic benefits realized by small- and large-scale farmers alike.

  • Farmers are marketing more than US$44 billion of GM crops to processors and consumers around the world each year. Food, feed and fiber markets are open and available for biotech crops.
  • In 2007, farmers planting biotech crops earned an additional US$10 billion -- US$6 billion in developing countries and US$4 billion in industrial countries -- due to increased crop yields and/or decreased production costs.
  • Chinese farmers planting Bt cotton realized a three-year average yield increase of 24 percent and net economic returns of US$332 per hectare (US$132 per acre) compared to conventional cotton farmers.
  • Bt cotton farmers in South Africa consistently experienced higher yields and increased revenues of US$86 to $93 per hectare (US$34 to $37 per acre) compared to conventional cotton.
  • Hawaiian farmers planting ringspot-tolerant papaya increased their incomes by more than US$3,000 per hectare (US$1,200 per acre) due to average yield increases of 44 percent over conventionally bred varieties, and saved their industry.

• A century of discoveries and scientific research make plant biotechnology possible.

  People have always strived to grow better, more plentiful foods. As early as 5000 BC, farmers began saving their best and sweetest corn to use as seed the next year. But it wasn’t until 1865 that Mendel concluded “unseen particles” pass these traits from generation to generation.

  Researchers then began to understand DNA and determined that the cells of all living things are composed of the same basic components. In 1953, Watson and Crick defined the structure of DNA, allowing us to understand how cells store, duplicate and pass genetic information. By 1973, Cohen and Boyer had isolated and moved a gene — a specific piece of DNA — from one organism to another.

  Each of these discoveries paved the way for great improvements in plant breeding. In 1982, researchers genetically modified a plant cell for the first time — making precise, controlled improvements in plant breeding possible. Farmers planted the first large-scale commercial biotech crop in the United States in 1996.

  Today, after a decade of use on more than 1 billion acres worldwide, crops developed through biotechnology have delivered significant benefits and a proven record of safe use. The next decade with plant biotechnology holds even more promise.

© 2009 Monsanto Company. All rights reserved. The copyright holder consents to the use of this material and the images in the published context only and solely for the purpose of promoting the benefits of agricultural biotechnology.