After a 12 years of use on more than 690.

9 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:

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

crops.

Farmers in 23 countries on six continents are using to solve difficult crop production challenges and

conserve the environment. Over the past plant biotechnology 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$34 billion, and achieved economic, environmental and social benefits in crops such as soybeans,

canola, corn and cotton.

To date, total hectares of biotech crops harvested exceed more than 690.9 million with a proven 12-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 12-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:

o Food ingredients in which the major allergenic proteins are modified or eliminated.

o 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.

o 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 289,000 metric tons.

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 15.5 percent, 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.

o 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.
o 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.
o Chinese farmers decreased pesticide applications on insect-protected (Bt) cotton by 57

percent, with reductions in reported pesticide poisonings.

o Indian farmers averaged 3.68 pesticide applications in conventional cotton, compared to

0.62 applications in Bt cotton.

 o Annual reductions of 46 million pounds of pesticide have been recorded in the United

States on four primary crops.

o 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$34 billion.

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.

o 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.

o In 2004, farmers planting biotech crops earned an additional US$4 billion due to

increased crop yields and/or decreased production costs.

o 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.

o 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.
o 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.