More Biotech Records

Global acceptance of biotech crops increased in 2006, with global biotech crop acreage reaching 252 million acres in 22 countries according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).  Global biotech crop acreage increased more than 13 percent from 2005, when 222 million acres of biotech crops were grown in 21 countries.  A recent study by PG Economics found that biotech crops have cumulatively increased farm income by $27 billion over the last decade.  “Since their introduction more than a decade ago, the acceptance of biotech crops continues to grow,” said Jim Greenwood, president and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).

Even more notable is the use by the developing world - which continues to adopt biotech crops aggressively.  ISAAA reports that more than 9.3 million small, resource-poor farmers in 11 countries grew biotech crops in 2006, a 9.4 percent increase from 2005.  This past year also showed record domestic acceptance of biotech crops according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), with biotech crop acreage in the United States increasing in 2006 by 9.6 percent over 2005.  In 2006, U.S. acreage of biotech soybean increased by more than 6 percent, to a total of 66.68 million acres, or 89 percent of all soybeans grown in this country.  American farmers planted 12.68 million acres of biotech cotton in 2006, representing 83 percent of all cotton grown in the United States (an increase from 11.25 million acres planted in 2005).  Plantings of biotech corn in the United States significantly increased in 2006 by nearly 14 percent to 48.4 million acres.

A May 2006 report from the University of Arizona found that Bt cotton reduces the level of pesticide applications while increasing overall crop yields.  For the third consecutive year, studies by the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy (NCFAP) showed the benefits of growing biotech crops.  NCFAP concluded that in 2005, biotech crops improved crop production by 8.3 billion pounds, reduced production costs by $1.4 billion, and increased farmer revenue by $2.0 billion.  Additionally, American growers reduced pesticide applications by 69.7 million pounds by planting biotech crops.

The year 2006 also saw the introduction of key regulatory guidelines for plant and animal biotechnology, both in the United States and internationally.  Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published guidelines concerning adventitious presence as a way to ensure food safety for consumers, farmers, food processors, and grain handlers.  Adventitious presence is the unintentional and incidental commingling of trace amounts of one type of seed, grain, or food product with another.  The United States' science-based policies on adventitious presence helped provide a model for the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the international food standards body.  In November, Codex agreed to develop an internationally accepted food safety risk assessment for adventitious presence.  The publication of FDA's draft risk assessment on animal cloning stood as a significant domestic regulatory milestone for animal biotechnology.  The draft risk assessment found that milk and meat products from animal clones and their offspring are safe for human consumption.  As a new assisted reproductive technology, cloning can consistently produce healthier animals and a healthful meat and milk supply.  FDA's draft risk assessment is consistent with numerous scientific studies, including two reports by the National Academy of Sciences, that have found the food from animal clones and their offspring to be safe.

Although laggards, six countries in the European Union have planted biotech acreage.  An example is Spain, where the percentage of biotech corn is planted in 2006 was over 15 percent greater than 2005.  There has also been continued recognition of the safety of biotech plants.  In 2006, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) found biotech potatoes and a variety of biotech corn to be safe for human consumption and the environment.  Last year, the European Commission approved the first pharmaceutical product manufactured with ingredients derived from biotech goats.  The drug's ingredients include proteins from the milk of biotech goats.  The pharmaceutical treats the rare blood-clotting disorder antithrombin deficiency.  The product is expected to enter the marketplace in 2007.  (BIO release, 1/18/07 & Reuters, 1/15/07).