Consumer Acceptance of Genetically Modified Foods: Traits, Labels, and Diverse Information - Transgenic Horticultural Crops: Challenges and Opportunities - page 196

Percent of acres
100

HT

soybeans

80

HT cotton

60

Bt cotton
HT corn
Bt corn

40

20

0
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

FIGURE 9.1 (See color insert.) .Adoption.of.genetically.engineered.crops:.United.States,.
1996-2007.. Note: .Data.for.each.crop.category.include.varieties.with.both.HT.and.Bt.(stacked).
traits.. (Data. for. 1996-1999. are. from. Femandez-Cornejo. and. McBride. (2002);. data. for.
2002-2007.are.available.in.the.ERS.Data.Product,.adoption.of.genetically.engineered.crops.
in.the.United.States,.Tables.1-3.)

also.got.off.to.a.fast.start.in.1996..By.2005,.about.60%.of.U.S..cotton.carried.HT.or.
Bt.genes,.with.the.most.recent.varieties.carrying.both.traits.as.a.“stacked.gene”.variety..
GM.ield.corn.got.off.to.a.slow.start,.and.in.2005.about.30%.of.the.corn.acreage.was.
planted.to.Bt.and.15%.to.HT.*.In.corn,.recent.stacking.of.multiple.Bt.genes,.impart-
ing.resistance.against.European.corn.borer.and.rootworm,.often.together.with.HT,.
has.pushed.GM.corn.acreage.up.in.the.last.2.years.and.is.anticipated.to.become.the.
“gold.standard”.in.the.future. †
Genetic. improvement. of. papaya. remains. the. one. bright. example. of. successful.
public.sector.bioengineering.of.a.horticultural.food.crop..Starting.in.the.1940s,.the.
Hawaiian. papaya. fruit. industry. was. ravaged. by. papaya. ringspot. virus. and,. by. the.
1980s,.Hawaii's.papaya.production.had.fallen.signiicantly.and.was.concentrated.in.
the.Puna.district.of.the.Big.Island..However,.by.the.early.1990s,.ringspot.virus.was.
invading.that.area,.too..The.University.of.Hawaii.at.Mãnoa,.Cornell.University.
and.the.U.S..Department.of.Agriculture-Agricultural.Research.Service.(USDA-ARS).
then. initiated. new. research. and. developed. a. transgenic. papaya. variety. that. was.
resistant. to. ringspot,. labeled. Rainbow,. and. it. was. released. freely. to. farmers. in.

* . Zilberman.has.argued.that.rational.regulation.of.transgenic.products.should.compare.their.risks.and.
beneits.with.the.risks.and.beneits.of.alternative.technologies..Current.regulations.ignore.the.alterna-
tives,.and.this.is.costly.to.society. 6
†. Although.herbicide-tolerant.wheat.varieties.have.been.developed.for.the.United.States.by.Monsanto,.
they.have.not.been.marketed.widely,.nor.are.they.currently.available.to.farmers.because.of.consumer.
resistance.due.to.the.use.of.wheat.largely.for.food.such.as.breads,.pastas,.etc.