What biotech (GMO) crops are farmers planting these days?

• Herbicide resistant crops — The best known example is Roundup Ready soybeans. Because USDA regulates most of these, you can find information on specific varieties on the APHIS list of Petitions of Nonregulated Status Granted.(This link opens a new, separate window.) Crops involved include
  • beet,
  • canola,
  • corn,
  • cotton,
  • flax,
  • rice,
  • soybean (e.g. Roundup Ready soybeans).
• Insect resistant crops — The EPA regulates these, so look for them on the EPA Plant Pesticide Regulatory Decisions list.(This link opens a new, separate window.) Crops involved include
  • corn (e.g. Bt corn),
  • cotton (e.g. Bt cotton),
  • potato,
  • tomato.
• Virus resistant crops — Again, these generally are regulated by the EPA, so you'll find them on the EPA Plant Pesticide Regulatory Decisions list.(This link opens a new window.) Crops involved include
  • papaya,
  • potato,
  • squash,
  • watermelon,
  • zucchini.

How many acres of biotech crops are farmers growing?

Farmers planted an estimated 145 million acres of GMO crops in 2002 (more than 5% the total land area of China or the US or almost two and half times the land area of the United Kingdom). For more detail, read 2002 Global GM Crop Area Continues to Grow for the Sixth Consecutive Year at a Sustained Rate of More than 10%, from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). (These links open new, separate windows.)

Globally, people raised 25 times more acres of GMO crops in the year 2000 than they had in 1996.

For more information on how many biotech crops are being grown, check out our page, Am I eating biotech foods?

Can the genes from GMO crops spread from one field to another?

Yes, they could, although farmers and researchers work to avoid this. You'll find more information on this on the Environmental Concerns page in our "...in debate" section,

On our home-front

What's happening with biotechnology in Indiana?