GM Crop Acreage Increases Worldwide

The Non-GMO sourceVolume 4, Issue 11
November 2004

Posted 10/25/04

According to The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, acreage of genetically modified crops continues to grow in the US and worldwide:

[] GM crops were planted on more than 167 million acres worldwide, which is 25% of all land under cultivation, 672 million acres, in the world

[] The US was the largest producer of GM crops in 2003 with 105.7 million acres, followed by Argentina with 34.4 million acres, Canada with 10.9 million acres, Brazil with 8.4 million acres, China with 6.9 million acres, and South Africa with 1.0 million acres.

[] Other countries growing GM crops in 2003 included Australia, Mexico, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, Germany, Uruguay, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Columbia, and Honduras.

[] The portion of US soybeans that are GM increased from 81% in 2003 to 85% in 2004.

[] The portion of US corn that is GM increased 40% in 2003 to 45% in 2004. (The American Corn Growers Association says this figure is 34%.)

[] The share of cotton which is GM—a total of 10.6 million acres—increased from 73% in 2003 to 76% in 2004.

[] Other GM crops currently grown in the US include canola, squash, and papaya. Other commercially available GM crops, such as sugar beets, potatoes, and sweet corn, have yet to be widely adopted by farmers.

The complete fact sheet is available at: http://pewagbiotech.org/resources/factsheets/crops