Page 282 - Environment: The Science Behind the Stories

Biotechnology is transforming
the products around us
Corn
In just over three decades, GM foods have gone from science (32%)
fiction to mainstream agribusiness. When recombinant DNA
technology was first being developed in the 1970s, scientists
debated whether the new methods were safe. They collec- Soybeans
tively regulated and monitored their own research until most (47%) Cotton
scientists were satisfied that reassembling genes in bacteria (14%)
did not create dangerous superbacteria. Once the scientific
community declared itself confident in the 1980s that the Canola (5%)
technique was safe, industry leaped at the chance to develop
hundreds of applications, from improved medicines (such as Other crops (<2%)
hepatitis B vaccine and insulin for diabetes) to designer plants (a) GM crops by type
and animals.
Since then, the speed with which GM crops have been
adopted and planted across the world has been remarkable
(Figure 10.25). Worldwide, four of every five soybean and cot- Brazil
ton plants are now transgenic, as are one of every three corn (21.5%)
and canola plants. Globally in 2012, more than 17 million Argentina
farmers grew GM crops on 170 million ha (420 million acres) (14.0%)
of farmland—11% of all cropland in the world. Canada
In the United States today, roughly 90% of corn, soy- (6.8%)
beans, cotton, and canola consist of genetically modified United States
strains, and close to half of these crops are engineered for (40.8%)
more than one trait. It is conservatively estimated that over India (6.3%)
70% of processed foods in U.S. stores contain GM ingredi- China (2.3%)
ents. Thus, it is extremely likely that you consume GM foods
on a daily basis. 22 other nations
Most GM crops today are engineered to resist herbicides, (8.3%)
so that farmers can apply herbicides to kill weeds without (b) GM crops by nation
having to worry about killing their crops. Other crops are
engineered to resist insect attack. Some are modified for Figure 10.26 So far, genetic engineering has mainly involved
both types of resistance. Resistance to herbicides and pests common crops grown in industrialized nations. Of the world’s
enables large-scale commercial farmers to grow crops more GM crops (a), soybeans are the most common. Of global acreage
planted in GM crops (b), the United States devotes the most area.
efficiently, and this is largely why sales of GM seeds to farm- Data are for 2012, from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-
ers have risen so quickly. Biotech Applications.

Soybeans are the world’s most common GM crop
180 World total (Figure 10.26a). Of the 28 nations growing GM crops in 2012,
Millions of hectares planted in GM crops 120 Developing nations China) accounted for over 90% of production, with the United CHAPTER 10 • A g R i C ulT u RE , Bi o TECH nology, A nd THE Fu T u RE o F Food
160
six (the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, India, and
Industrialized nations
140
States alone growing 41% of the global total (Figure 10.26b).
100
However, more than half the world’s GM crops are now grown
80
in developing nations.
60
Many people view biotechnology as a promising avenue
40
20
economic benefits to poor and rich farmers alike, while reducing
0 toward sustainable agriculture. They feel that GM crops offer
1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 environmental impacts. Other citizens, scientists, and policy-
makers are skeptical and concerned. Some fear the new foods
Year could be dangerous for people to eat. Some are concerned that
Figure 10.25 GM crops have spread with remarkable speed transgenes may escape and harm nontarget organisms. Others
since their commercial introduction in 1996. They now are worry that pests will evolve resistance to the supercrops and
planted on over 10% of the world’s cropland. Data from the International become “superpests” or that transgenes will be transferred
Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications. from crops to other plants and turn them into “superweeds.”
In the last 5 years, have GM crops been growing faster in Some, like Quist and Chapela, worry that transgenes might
industrialized nations or in developing nations? If current ruin the integrity of native ancestral landraces of crops. What,
trends continue, which group of nations will have more GM crops then, does scientific research tell us about the benefits and the
in 2015? Can you estimate how much more they might have? risks of genetically modified organisms? 281

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