Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
* Conservation tillage acres includes acres under no-till, ridge till, and mulch-till
systems.
Source: Fernandez-Cornejo and McBride (2002).
Figure 9. Soybean area under conservation tillage * and no-till, 1997
According to USDA survey data, about 60 percent of the area planted with
HT soybeans was under conservation tillage in 1997, compared with only
about 40 percent of the acres planted with conventional soybeans (figure 9).
Differences in the use of no-till between adopters and nonadopters of HT
soybeans are even more pronounced: 40 percent of acres planted with HT
soybeans were under no-till, twice the corresponding share of acreage planted
with conventional soybeans. As a result, adoption of HT crops may indirectly
benefit the environment by encouraging farmers to use soil conservation
practices.
C ONSUMER D EMAND A FFECTS R&D, A DOPTION , AND
M ARKETING OF GE-D ERIVED P RODUCTS
Investments in biotechnology-related research and development (R&D),
the adoption of GE seeds, and the marketing of GE-derived products are all
affected by consumer demand. While several surveys indicate that some U.S.
consumers are concerned about GE food (table 4), these concerns have not had
a large impact on the market for foods containing GE ingredients in the United
States. In the European Union and a few other countries, consumer concern
has resulted in substitution away from GE ingredients.
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