Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 8.2
Adoption of Genetically Modified (GM) Plant Varieties by Major Crop (Maize, Upland
Cotton, and Soybean) in the United States, 2000-2011 (percentage of all corn, cotton, and soybean
planted by year)
Crop
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Insect-resistant (
Bt
) only
Maize
a
18
18
22
25
27
26
25
21
17
17
16
16
Cotton
b
15
13
13
14
16
18
18
17
18
17
15
17
Soybean
c
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Herbicide-tolerant only
Maize
a
6
7
9
11
14
17
21
24
23
22
23
23
Cotton
b
26
32
36
32
30
27
26
28
23
23
20
15
Soybean
c
54
68
75
81
85
87
89
91
92
91
93
94
Stacked gene varieties (multiple insect-resistance traits or insect resistance + herbicide tolerance)
Maize
a
1
1
2
4
6
9
15
28
40
46
47
49
Cotton
b
20
24
22
27
30
34
39
42
45
48
58
58
Soybean
c
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
All GM varieties
Maize
a
25
26
34
40
47
52
61
73
80
85
86
88
Cotton
b
61
69
71
73
76
79
83
87
86
88
93
90
Soybean
c
54
68
75
81
85
87
89
91
92
91
93
94
Source:
United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Acreage, July 1, 2011.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/BiotechCrops/ExtentofAdoptionTable1.htm.
a
Primarily grown in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota,
Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.
b
Primarily grown in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina,
Tennessee, and Texas.
c
Primarily grown in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota,
Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
rootworm) (EPA, 2009).
Future GM crop varieties are expected to include multiple traits for
pest resistance and tolerance to herbicides and drought, as well as nutritional traits such
as high omega-3 oil in soybean or enhanced nutrient content of other staple crops (James,
2010; Monsanto, 2011). Stacked and pyramided traits have become important features of
GM crops and will continue to be adopted by farmers worldwide.
Genetically modified plants can be engineered to express a variety of novel traits (usu-
ally with DNA obtained from another type of organism) that confer protection against
insect pests, tolerance to herbicides, increase vitamin content or nutrient status, improve
drought tolerance, produce pharmaceuticals, or impart almost any other characteristic that
is deemed to be agriculturally or commercially important. The process of genetic engi-
neering involves the identification and isolation of desired genes (e.g., the genes in strains
of the soil bacterium
B. thuringiensis
that produce
Bt
proteins); the selection of a host plant
(often called the parental line or the parental isoline); insertion of the foreign gene into the
host plant cells (called transformation, often using a bacterial vector, such as
Agrobacterium
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