Annotated Bibliography Entry  

Reference: ISAAA 2001.
Title: Global Review of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2000
Authors: James, C.
Publisher: The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), ISAAA  SEAsiaCenter, c/o IRRI, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, The Philippines
Publication details: 2001, ISAAA Briefs No. 23, 110p

Summary
GM Crop Highlights
Attributes and Benefits of GM Crops
The Potential Role of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Contents

 

 

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Summary

This publication is the fifth in a series of ISAAA Briefs, which characterize the global adoption of commercialized transgenic crops. A global database for the first five-year period for commercial GM crops, 1996 to 2000, is presented. The 2000 data is analyzed globally, and by country, crop and trait. Data on the global status of transgenic crops are complemented with commentaries on relevant key topics including: the value of the transgenic seed market in the context of the global crop protection and seed markets; status of regulation in Europe; a review of alliances, acquisitions and activities in the biotechnology industry; a review of selected highlights featuring transgenic crops during the last year, and an assessment of the broadening political and institutional support for GM crops globally. 

In 2000, 3.5 million small and large farmers from 13 industrial and developing countries grew approximately 44.2 million hectares of GM crops. Of the total global area (conventional varieties and transgenic varieties) of 271 million hectares planted to soybean, canola, cotton and corn in 2000, 16%, equivalent to 44.2 million hectares, were planted with transgenic varieties.  The global area of transgenic crops in 2000, comprised 36% of the 72 million hectares of soybeans planted globally, 16% of the 34 million hectares of cotton, 11% of the 25 million hectares of canola and 7% of the 140 million hectares of corn.

 

Value of the GM Crop Seed Market and Industry Developments

 

The value of the global market for transgenic seed has grown from US$1 million in 1995, to an estimated $ 3,044 million in 2000.  Investments in plant genomics continue to grow and are of pivotal importance for future growth.  

 

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GM Crop Highlights

 

Global highlights for transgenic crops are discussed under the following topics:

 

·   Status of approvals for commercialization of transgenic crops

·   Biosafety

·   Food-feed import regulations

· Genome sequencing of rice Arabidopsis and Agrobacterium tumefaciens

·   Sharing of proprietary transgenic technology with developing countries

·   Monarch butterfly/BT corn studies by the US National Academies of Science

·   Implications of transgenic crops for food security. 

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Attributes and Benefits of GM Crops

The use of transgenic crops results in:

·         More sustainable and resource-efficient crop management practices that require less energy and fuel and conserve natural resources.  

·         More effective control of insect pests and weeds.

·         A reduction in the overall amount of pesticides used in crop production, which impacts positively on biodiversity, protects predators and non target organisms, and the environment.

·         Less dependency on conventional pesticides that can be a health hazard to producers and consumers; the potential health benefits associated with fewer pesticide poisonings from Bt cotton in China is an important finding, with significant implications for other developing countries where small farmers in particular may be at similar risk from heavy and over-use of conventional pesticides.

·         Bt maize that has reduced levels of the fumonisin mycotoxin in maize grain, which provides safer and healthier food and feed products.

·         Greater operational flexibility in timing of herbicide and insecticide applications.

·         Conservation of soil moisture, structure, nutrients and control of soil erosion through no or low-tillage practices as well as improved quality of ground and surface water with less pesticide residues.

·         Improved pest control, lower cost of production  and improved yields all contribute to a greater economic advantage to farmers who utilize the technology to develop more sustainable farming systems.

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The Potential Role of the World Trade Organization (WTO)

 

A major global event that will impact more directly on the contribution of transgenic crops to the alleviation of poverty and hunger in the developing countries is the World Trade Organization Meeting held in Doha, Qatar, 9 to 13 November 2001, with 142 members in attendance. China, a world leader in transgenic crops, was admitted as a member of WTO on 10 November 2001. China’s membership of WTO has many significant implications for its own future strategy on GM crops, but could also be pivotal for other developing and industrial countries committed to utilizing GM crops to achieve global food, feed and fiber security.

 

Trade liberalization in agriculture and textiles which comprise 70% of exports from developing countries; the TRIPS agreement (Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights) is also being reviewed, albeit in the context of public health and pharmaceuticals, but there may be some important implications for agriculture.

 

WTO is a key international organization that can ensure that GM crops are accessible to those developing countries that seek to use them to alleviate poverty and hunger and achieve food security. In the new round of trade talks WTO should address the key issues that would facilitate the implementation of the principal recommendation of the 2001 UNDP Human Development Report  - to utilize biotechnology and information technology to alleviate poverty in developing countries. More specifically WTO can address several critical issues that impact on developing countries seeking to utilize biotechnology to achieve food security. The most urgent and important issues for WTO to address and remedy are:

·         Liberalization of agricultural trade. Abolishing all trade barriers could increase global income by $ 2.8 trillion over the next decade, with well over half of the benefits going to the poor. The World Bank has predicted that global trade liberalization could reduce the 1.3 billion people suffering from poverty today by 300 million to 1.0 billion by 2015. The removal or reduction of trade barriers in agriculture is assigned high priority by the US and developing countries. However, the European and Japanese continue to oppose freer trade in agriculture, particularly export subsidies, and are concerned that environmental issues are not receiving the attention they deserve.  Some observers interpret the European position on the environment as an indirect way of re-introducing protection policies for agriculture.

·         The establishment of an exemplary advisory body to provide direction and leadership in the implementation of WTO’s policy of basing all its decisions, re the use and transfer of transgenic material, on scientific fact and objective evidence – this is in stark contrast to the subjective decision-making of the Biosafety Protocol which requires no scientific justification for invoking the precautionary principle. Applying the precautionary principle to delay or deny access to transgenic crops to developing countries that seek to use them for food security clearly will increase rather than decrease the food security risk to the poor, hungry and malnourished in developing countries. The establishment of an advisory body by the WTO would seem appropriate at this time, particularly to align and rationalize decisions vis-à-vis the contradictions in the Biosafety Protocol re the use and transfer of transgenic material.

·         Overseeing implementation of a TRIPS agreement that is equitable to all parties. The current WTO agreement on intellectual property rights (TRIPS) negotiated during the Uruguay round is a key issue and impacts directly on the deployment of transgenic crops in developing countries. The context of the current discussions on TRIPS will be in relation to pharmaceuticals and public health, however, there could be some important implications for agriculture. The US is reluctant to soften the TRIPS requirements but a group of developing countries, including South Africa, Brazil, and India are seeking an exemption to TRIPS for public health initiatives such as the control of AIDS. The renegotiated agreement on TRIPS could  have implications for the ease of access, deployment and trading of transgenic crops for developing countries, and the views of China as a new member and a lead country in GM crops could be pivotal.

 

Mmbers of WTO reached consensus on the Doha Development Agenda, with Africa in particular welcoming the agreement because of the potential for more open markets for exports. The most difficult issue to resolve was the EU farm subsidies which the EU agreed to phase out, provided that it does not “prejudice the outcome” of the negotiations. However, some developing countries voiced concern that the EU may use environmental restrictions to preclude the importation of GM products. Reaching a consensus on freer trade was very important because it will provide WTO with the necessary solidarity amongst members prior to addressing the outstanding and important issues that need to be resolved in relation to biotechnology, that offers the developing countries a unique opportunity for alleviating poverty and achieving food security.

 

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ISAAA 2001. Global Review of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2000

 

CONTENTS

 

Executive Summary

 

List of Tables and Figures

 

1.  Introduction

 

2. Overview of Global Status and Distribution of Commercial Transgenic Crops, 1996 to 2000

 

2.1  Distribution of Transgenic Crops, by Country

2.2  Distribution of Transgenic Crops, by Country

2.3  Distribution of Transgenic Crops, by Crop 

2.4  Distribution of Transgenic Crops, by Trait

2.5  Dominant Transgenic Crops in 2000

2.6  Global Adoption of Transgenic Soybean, Maize, Cotton and Canola

2.7  Summary of Significant Changes between 1999 and 2000

 

3.  Value of the Global Transgenic Seed Market, 1995 to 2000

 

4.  Value of Transgenic Crops in the Context of the Global Crop Protection Market

 

5.  Overview of the Commercial Seed Industry

 

6.  Status of Regulation in the European Union

 

6.1  Current Status

6.2  New Requirements under Directive 2001/18

6.3  Approval of Transgenic Crops and Derived Products

 

7.  Alliances, Acquisitions, Spin-offs and Activities in the Agribiotechnology Industry

 

7.1   Sharing Information, Knowledge and Technology with the Public and with Developing Countries

7.2  New Investors in Crop Biotechnology

7.3  Acquisitions

7.4  Alliances

7.5   Mergers and Spin-Offs/IPOs

7.6  Genomics

7.7  Genetic Markers

7.8  Regulation and Marketing

8.  Selected Highlights for Transgenic Crops

8.1    Status of Approvals for Commercialization of Transgenic Crops
8.1.1 EPA approves re-registration for Bt Cotton and Bt Corn
8.1.2 StarLink Corn
8.1.3 New approvals for growing and commercializing transgenic crops

8.2    Biosafety
8.2.1 Monarch Butterflies and Bt Corn
8.2.2 EU launches Round Table on Biotech Safety Research

8.3    Food-Feed Import Regulations
8.3.1 EU proposals for regulations on labeling and traceability of GM crops and GM food and feeds
8.3.2 EU and Japan proposing 1% adventitious presence of GM grain
8.3.3 Japan – New Regulations

8.4    Genome Sequencing
8.4.1 Rice
8.4.2 Arabidopsis
8.4.3 Agrobacterium tumefaciens

8.5   Sharing of Proprietary Transgenic Technology with Developing Countries
8.5.1 ‘Golden Rice’
8.5.2 ‘Golden Mustard’
8.5.3 PositechTM - A new marker system, based on mannose

8.6    Selected Highlights in Transgenic Crops in Developing Countries 
8.6.1  China- Bumper cotton production expected in 2001 following widespread adoption of Bt cotton and favorable weather
8.6.2  South Africa reaffirms its commitment to biotechnology
8.6.3  Nigeria assigns high priority to agbiotech
8.6.4  Indian Seed Bill addresses emerging issues in biotechnology with prospects of commercializing Bt cotton in the near-term
8.6.5  China – draft sequence of the super hybrid rice genome nearing completion
8.6.6  Philippines develops its own transgenic rice, resistant to bacterial blight, ready for field testing
8.6.7  Brazil- status of approval for transgenic soybean
8.6.8  Indonesia successfully commercializes Bt cotton – its first transgenic crop
8.6.9  Kenya – first field trials of a transgenic crop- virus resistant sweet potato

8.7    Broadening Political and Institutional Support for Crop Biotechnology
8.7.1  PEC Leaders support the use of biotechnology to increase food production
8.7.2  The President of the USA, President George W. Bush, advocates biotechnology in address to World Bank
8.7.3  The President of the Republic of Kenya seeks cooperation in biotechnology
8.7.4  UNDP Human Development Report for 2001 highlights the use and potential benefits of biotechnology
8.7.5  Joint Report on Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture by seven Academies of Science representing the North and the South
8.7.6  European Commission releases report on the status of biotechnology and developing countries
8.7.7  New Zealand Royal Commission Report on Biotechnology
8.7.8  American Medical Association supports biotechnology for food production
8.7.9  International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) states that biotechnology could alleviate poverty
8.7.10  Asian Development Bank Report on Biotechnology recommends increased investment in biotechnology
8.7.11  International Food Policy Research Institute advocates biotechnology as an option
8.7.12  The American Phytopathological Society (APS) supports biotechnology
8.7.13  American Society of Plant Physiologists/American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPP/ASPB) Statement on Biotechnology
8.7.14  UK - Encouraging report on transgenic/GM crops
8.7.15  German Senate Commission supports transgenic crops
8.7.16  REDBIO Foundation – The Goiania Declaration on Biotechnology
8.7.17  Indian Science Congress Association statement on biotechnology
8.7.18  Visions of Indian Leaders on biotechnology – politicians, policy makers, senior statesmen in science, and farmers

9. Overview of Attributes and Benefits Associated with Transgenic Crops

9.1     Reduction in Use of Pesticides

9.2     Improved Pest Control and Productivity
9.2.1  Improved insect pest management
9.2.2  Improved weed control
9.2.3  Herbicide tolerance and no-till systems
9.2.4  Herbicide tolerance and yield
9.2.5  Contribution to soil conservation, improved water quality and sustainability

9.3     Protection of Non-Target Organisms

9.4     Food Safety and Health Hazards
9.4.1  Safer Bt Corn with lower levels of mycotoxin
9.4.2  Bt Cotton decreases pesticide poisonings

9.5     Economic Advantage to Farmers Growing Transgenic Crops
9.5.1  Herbicide Tolerant Soybean
9.5.2  Bt Cotton
9.5.3  Herbicide Tolerant Canola in Canada
9.5.4  Bt Corn
9.5.5  “Global” overview of economic advantage to GM crop farmers in 1999
9.5.6  Distribution of economic benefits to stakeholders

9.6     Summary

10.  The Future – Concluding Commentary

Acknowledgments

References

Appendix

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