Genetically Modified Crops in the United States

Genetically modified food and agricultural biotechnology have generated considerable interest and controversy in the United States and around the world. Some tout the technology's benefits while others raise questions about environmental and food safety issues. The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology is developing a series of fact sheets on some of the common questions that are frequently asked about genetically modified food and agricultural biotechnology.

Crop varieties developed by genetic engineering were first introduced for commercial production in 1996. Today, these crops are planted on more than 109.2 million acres worldwide. U.S. farmers are by far the largest producers of genetically modified (GM) crops. This fact sheet summarizes the extent to which GM crops have been adopted in the United States compared to other countries. It also shows which GM crops are grown by U.S. farmers and which states plant most GM varieties.

Recent innovations in biotechnology allow scientists to select specific genes from one organism and introduce them into another to confer a desired trait. This technology can be used to produce new varieties of plants or animals more quickly than conventional breeding methods and to introduce traits not possible through traditional techniques. The principal agricultural biotechnology products marketed to date have been genetically modified (GM) crops engineered to tolerate herbicides and resist pests. Crops carrying herbicide-tolerant genes were developed so that farmers could spray their fields to eliminate weeds without damaging the crop. Likewise, pest-resistant crops have been engineered to contain a gene for a toxic protein from the soil bacterium, Bacillus thurigiensis (Bt). This protein, referred to as Bt, is produced by the entire plant, thereby making it resistant to insect pests like the European Corn Borer or Cotton Boll Weavel. Other pest-resistant GM crops on the market today have been engineered to contain genes that confer resistance to specific plant viruses.

The United States is the World Leader in Production of Biotechnology Crops

The United States accounts for over two-thirds of all biotechnology crops planted globally. GM food crops grown by U.S. farmers include corn, cotton, soybeans, canola, squash, and papaya. Other major producers of GM crops are Argentina, which plants primarily biotech soybeans, and Canada, whose principal biotech crop is canola.

Worldwide, about 670 million acres of land are under cultivation, of which 16 percent consisted of GM crops in 2000. (This area, 109.2 million acres, corresponds to almost twice the size of the United Kingdom.) Since 1996, the United States has consistently planted more GM crops than any other country, with 74.9 million acres supporting GM crops in 2000. Argentina is the next largest producer, with 24.7 million, followed by Canada with 7.4 million, and China with 1.2 million acres in 2000. Together, these four countries grew 99 percent of the global GM crop area last year. South Africa, Australia, Mexico, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, Germany, France, and Uruguay also planted significant acreage in GM crops in 2000. (Indonesia was added to the list in 2001.)

U.S. Farmers Continue to Increase GM Crop Acreage

In 1996, 4.2 million acres in six countries were planted with GM crops. By the year 2000 the numbers had grown to 109.2 million acres in 13 countries ---a 26-fold increase in five years. The adoption of GM crops has been the most rapid in the United States, where there has been a 20-fold increase in the area of GM crops planted during the same time period (3.7 million acres in1996 to 74.9 million acres in 2000).

Top GM Crops Produced in the United States

In the United States the three main GM crops under cultivation are varieties of corn, soybeans, and cotton.

In 2001, 68 percent of U.S. soybeans were genetically engineered, up from 54 percent of the national soybean acreage in 2000. Biotechnology varieties (which include herbicide and insect resistant types) account for about 26 percent of the corn and 69 percent of the upland cotton planted in 2001.

Other GM crops currently grown in the U.S. include canola, squash and papaya. About 55 percent of canola grown in the U.S. in 2001was genetically modified, according to industry estimates. In 2000, 53 percent of papaya acreage in Hawaii (the only U.S. state that grows the fruit) was planted with GM virus-resistant varieties. Additional GM crops, such as sugar beets, potatoes, and sweet corn, are commercially available but have not been widely adopted by farmers to date.

South Dakota and Kansas Farmers Lead In GM Corn and Soybeans; GM Cotton is King in Louisiana and Mississippi

Data collected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in June 2001 shows that farmers in every state in the continental U.S. planted some GM corn in 2001. However, 11 states were responsible for 84 percent of the country's GM corn crop this year. In South Dakota 47 percent of its farmers reported planting GM seed, followed by 38 percent in Kansas and 36 percent in Minnesota.

Although soybeans are not as widely planted throughout the country as corn, GM soybeans proved to be even more popular among farmers in the top producing states. Fourteen states accounted for 90 percent of GM soybeans planted in 2001. In Kansas and South Dakota 80 percent of farmers indicated using GM soybeans. Indiana and Nebraska were not far behind with 78 percent and 76 percent of their farmers sowing GM seeds, respectively.

The main producers of upland cotton (all of which are in the southern United States) have embraced GM cotton, with 91 percent of upland cotton farmers in Louisiana, 86 percent in Mississippi, 85 percent in Georgia, 84 percent in North Carolina and 78 percent in Arkansas planting GM seeds in 2001. These five states, together with California and Texas, accounted for 83 percent of GM upland cotton cultivation in 2001.

This fact sheet was produced by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research project whose goal is to inform the public and policymakers on issues about genetically modified food and agricultural biotechnology, including its importance, as well as concerns about it and its regulation. It is funded by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts to the University of Richmond. The information presented in this fact sheet was obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture and two nongovernmental, nonprofit organizations: the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications and the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy.