The international scene

The UK government's official adviser on GM, the Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission (AEBC), has said it would “be difficult and in some places impossible to guarantee” that any British food was GM-free if commercial growing of GM crops went ahead. In North America, farmers can no longer be certain the seed they plant does not contain GM genes.

In 2004, there was an estimated 81.0 million hectares (or 200 million acres) of GM crops grown across the world. This involved approximately 8.25 million farmers in 17 countries.

While the majority of GM crops are grown in US and Argentina, China and India grow a lot of GM cotton, and South Africa and Spain growing a lot of GM maize (corn).

Countries growing 50,000 hectares or more are: USA, Argentina, Canada, Brazil, China, Paraguay, India, South Africa, Uruguay, Australia, Romania, Mexico, Spain and the Philippines.

The main GM crops grown are: soybean, maize, cotton and canola.

The main traits in GM crop plants are herbicide tolerance and insect resistance. Herbicide tolerant soybean occupies 60% of the global biotech area and is grown in nine countries and Bt maize (pest resistant corn) occupies 14% of global biotech area and is also grown in nine countries.

To see a map of the world showing which countries have taken up genetically modified crops, go to: http://www.isaaa.org/kc/CBTNews/press_release/briefs32/ figures/Biotech_map_hectarage.jpg

In Australia, three crops are approved and can be grown commercially. They are:

  • four pest resistant cotton varieties: Ingard® and Bollgard®, and Roundup Ready Ingard® and Roundup Ready Bollgard® cottons. Bollgard®II has two insecticidal genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis.

  • two herbicide tolerant canolas: Monsanto’s Roundup Ready® canola and Bayer’s InVigor® canola. These have been modified to be tolerant to the herbicides glyphosate and glufosinate ammonium, respectively, which can then be used to control weeds while the crop is being grown.

  • five varieties of carnations in the Florigene Moondust and Moonshadow varieties. They are modified for flower colour and longer vase life.

There are a number of crops undergoing field trials.

To see where field trials of GM crops are in Australia, go to: http://www.ogtr.gov.au/pdf/maps/australia1.pdf

The European Union had an unofficial moratorium on the sale and growth of GM crops in place since 1998. This was lifted in May 2004.

In the European Union, food ingredients from varieties of GM soy, maize and oilseed rape have been approved for food use although very little is actually used. These include oils and syrups that contain ‘GM-derived’ material, and flours and starches.

In Britain, the first crop to be approved for growing was a maize plant genetically modified to resist the weedkiller glufosinate ammonium and used for animal feed. It was approved by the regulators in March 2004 but in April, the company announced that it was abandoning plans to launch the crop as it was not economically viable because of the uncertainty over issues such as compensation for contamination.

Scotland and Wales both want to establish ‘GM-free’ zones.

Some countries want to remain GM-free while others embrace GM. This makes for complex debates about what constitutes a GM food or ingredient and makes labelling difficult when these countries deal with each other in the global marketplace.

Each year, a review of the GM crops being grown around the world is produced by The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). This is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to deliver the benefits of new agricultural biotechnologies to the poor in developing countries.

To read the 2004 report on what GM crops are grown globally, go to: http://www.isaaa.org/kc/CBTNews/press_release/briefs32/ ESummary/Executive%20Summary%20(English).pdf