World Grain -- May 2011 - 80

FEATURE

Global bioengineered
crops increase
A
rea planted to bioengineered crops in 2010 totaled 148 million hectares (370,000,000 million acres), up 10% from 2009, according to an annual report from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). “Growth remains strong, with biotech hectarage increasing 14 million hectares, or 10%, between 2009 and 2010,” said Clive James, chairman and founder of ISAAA and author of the report. “That’s the second highest annual hectare growth ever, bringing 2010 global plantings to 148 million hectares. “With an unprecedented 87-fold increase between 1996 and 2010, biotech crops are the fastest-adopted crop technology in the history of modern agriculture,” James said. Total area planted to bioengineered crops in 2010 in 29 countries equaled about 10% of total global crop area, according to the report. The 10 largest bioengineered crop-growing countries had more than 1 million hectares each for the ﬁrst time in 2010, according
by Eric Schroeder

Planted area in 2010 rises 10% from the previous year, according to the ISAAA
to the ISAAA report. Those included the United States with 66.8 million hectares, Brazil with 25.4 million, Argentina with 22.9 million, India with 9.4 million, Canada with 8.8 million, China with 3.5 million, Paraguay with 2.6 million, Pakistan with 2.4 million, South Africa with 2.2 million and Uruguay with 1.1 million. The largest increase from 2009 was in Brazil, where bioengineered crop area increased 4 million hectares, or 19%. Brazil has 27 bioengineered crops, adding eight in 2010, and accounts

Bioengineered wheat prospects for Japan draw strong industry response
A keynote presentation on the Japanese view of bioengineered wheat elicited spirited discussion in its aftermath at the Wheat Quality Council annual meeting, held Feb. 16-17 at the KCI Embassy Suites hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. The presentation, provided by Jeffrey Smyth of Database Analysts Ltd., painted the picture of a U.S. wheat industry that perhaps is not well positioned — or maybe not willing — to meet the demands of the Japanese export market. The view was not shared by all participants in attendance. As a renewed groundswell pushing for the introduction of bioengineered wheat takes hold, Smyth in his talk cautioned that Japan may not be willing to simply go along for the ride, posing resistance and, ultimately, business risk for U.S. companies looking to move wheat to the country. “I want you to understand that the Japanese industry’s opposition to GM wheat is not naïve, it is not based on woolly activist thinking, it is not anti-science and it is not anti-American,” Smyth said. “It is just based on business risk.” Smyth explained that the Japanese consumer holds a thoroughly negative view of bioengineered foods, with many being “highly suspicious and skeptical” about the safety of bioengineered crops.
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Even as the Japanese Ministry of Health continues to assess the safety of various bioengineered crops, acceptance by consumers remains slim. Smyth said 130 “GM events” from a variety of international seed developers have been certified as safe by the Japanese Ministry of Health, but none is being grown for food or feed in Japan and none is being imported into Japan for use in the food industry when they have to be labeled. “It is very important for the American wheat industry to realize that winning government approval for a GM event in Japan is not the end of the process, it’s only the beginning,” Smyth said. “There is still much fierce opposition to overcome.” Consumer research cited by Smyth showed about 70% of Japanese consumers say they have some concern about bioengineered crops, compared with just 6% who have no concern. Of those with concern, 90% cited concern with health, 65% cited concern about the environment and about a third cited concern with the ethics of the technology. Additionally, even if bioengineered crops were to be declared safe under international regulations, three-quarters of those surveyed said they would hesitate to eat such food, Smyth said.
May 2011 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain -- May 2011

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