Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 3. Major genetically engineered crops, 2000-2013
GE
c
orn
GE soy
beans
GE c
otton
Percent
of
cotton
acres
2000 19.89 25 40.10 54 9.47 61
2001 19.68 26 50.37 68 10.88 69
2002 26.82 34 55.47 75 9.91 71
2003 31.44 40 59.46 81 9.84 73
2004 38.04 47 63.93 85 10.38 76
2005 42.53 52 62.67 87 11.25 79
2006 47.78 61 67.21 89 12.68 83
2007 68.27 73 58.91 91 9.42 87
2008 68.79 80 69.66 92 8.15 86
2009 73.42 85 70.48 91 8.05 88
2010 75.85 86 71.99 93 10.21 93
2011 81.21 88 70.46 94 13.25 90
2012 85.50 88 71.79 93 11.58 94
2013 87.64 90 72.29 93 9.23 90
Genetically engineered crops in this table include Bt crops that have insect-resistant
traits or HT crops that have herbicide tolerance traits, or both.
Sources: USDA Economic Research Service using data from from USDA/NASS
Quick Stats and Fernandez-Cornejo (2013).
Percent
of
soybean
acre
Million
acres
planted
Percent
of corn
acres
Million
acres
planted
Million
acres
planted
Year
Commercially introduced in the United States in 1996, major GE crops
were rapidly adopted. Planting of GE crops (measured in acres) increased by
68 percent between 2000 and 2005 and grew by 45 percent between 2005 and
2013. Three crops (corn, cotton, and soybeans) make up the bulk of U.S. acres
planted to GE crops (table 3), mostly for herbicide tolerance (HT) and insect
resistance (Bt). Including varieties with HT and/or Bt traits, GE crops
accounted for 90 percent of all planted cotton acres, 93 percent of soybean
acres, and 90 percent of corn acres in 2013. U.S. farmers have tended to adopt
HT seeds at higher levels than seeds with insect resistance (figure 5). In part,
this is because weeds are a pervasive problem.
9
HT adoption was particularly
rapid in soybeans, with U.S. farmers increasing their planting of HT soybeans
from 54 percent of soybean acres in 2000 to 87 percent in 2005 and 93 percent
in 2013. HT cotton increased from 46 percent of cotton acres in 2000 to 61
percent in 2005 and 82 percent in 2013. HT corn increased from 7 percent of
