The Advantages of Genetically Modified Foods

from Monsanto's website

After 13 years of use on more than 2 billion acres (800 million hectares) worldwide, plant biotechnology delivers
proven economic and environmental benefits, a solid record of safe use and promising products for our future.
Following are key global facts about the advantages of genetically modified foods and crops:

• 13.3 million farmers — 90 percent of who farm in developing countries – choose to plant biotech crops.
Farmers in 25 countries on six continents are using plant biotechnology to solve difficult crop production
challenges and conserve the environment. Over the past decade, they’ve increased area planted in genetically
modified (GM) crops by more than 10 percent each year, increased their farm income by more than US$44
billion (1996-2007), and achieved economic, environmental and social benefits in crops such as soybeans,
canola, corn and cotton.
To date, total acres of biotech crops harvested exceed more than 2 billion with a proven 13-year history of safe
use. Over the next decade, expanded adoption combined with current research on 57 crops in 63 countries will
broaden the advantages of genentically modified foods for growers, consumers and the environment.
• International regulatory standards for GM crops are affirmed by a decade of safe use.
Biotech crops are among the most studied and reviewed foods in the world. Using well-established,
internationally accepted standards of risk assessment, regulatory authorities worldwide have reviewed all
biotech crops now on the market and determined that they pose no more risk than crops produced through
traditional breeding methods.
A proven 13-year history of safe use supports the conclusion that the regulatory process has been successful.
Experts estimate more than 1 trillion meals containing ingredients from biotech crops have been consumed with
no reliable documentation of any food safety issues for people or animals.
Twenty-five Nobel Prize winners and 3,400 prominent scientists have expressed their support for the advantages
and safety of genetically modified foods and crops as a “powerful and safe” way to improve agriculture and the
environment. Numerous international organizations also have endorsed the health and environmental safety of
biotech crops, including the Royal Society (UK), National Academy of Sciences (USA), the World Health
Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the European Commission, the
French Academy of Medicine, and the American Medical Association.
• 63 countries are conducting plant biotech research across 57 different crops.
Each year, global population grows by more than 70 million, and agriculture is required to produce more food
with limited land and water resources. Scientists believe biotechnology holds great potential to help farmers
produce more food — and healthier food — with fewer resources.
Over the next decade, biotechnology promises to deliver products that address land and resource limitations,
such as improved drought tolerance, saline tolerance and increased yields. The research also will deliver
products with direct consumer benefits such as enhanced nutrition, convenience and taste. For example:
• Food ingredients in which the major allergenic proteins are modified or eliminated.
• Rice enriched with beta-carotene, which stimulates production of vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency
causes blindness in 500,000 children and up to 2 million deaths annually.
• Plants that can tolerate stress from harsh environments — such as arid or saline soils, cold environments
or low nutrient availability — and continue to produce food.
Economists predict full adoption of GM crops globally would result in income gains of US$210 billion per year
within the next decade, with the largest potential advantages of genetically modified foods and crops occurring
in developing countries at a rate of 2.1 percent gross national product per year.
• Farmers have decreased pesticide applications by 359,000 metric tons -- a savings of 9 percent in pesticides
(1996-2007).
Consumers consistently rank a reduction in pesticide applications as the most valuable benefit of plant
biotechnology — which is important since farmers have significantly reduced pesticide sprayings, while
conserving the water and fuel otherwise depleted with tillage or plowing. The planting of biotech crops has
reduced the "environmental footprint" of cotton, corn, soy and canola by 17.2 percent (1996-2007), as
calculated using an established environmental index quotient (EIQ) that compares the potential impacts of
pesticides applied in a conventional field to a field planted with a biotech crop.
• Since 1996, the use of GM soybeans has been one of the largest contributors to reduced pesticide
applications, accounting for cumulative reductions of 41,000 metric tons.
• YieldGard corn rootworm is expected to eliminate one million plastic containers, 68,845 gallons of
aviation fuel, 5 million gallons of water used in insecticide formulations, 5 million pounds of insecticide
active ingredient, and 5 million gallons of diesel fuel per year.
• Chinese farmers decreased pesticide applications on insect-protected (Bt) cotton by 57 percent, with
reductions in reported pesticide poisonings.
• Indian farmers averaged 3.68 pesticide applications in conventional cotton, compared to 0.62
applications in Bt cotton.
• Annual reductions of 46 million pounds of pesticide have been recorded in the United States on four
primary crops.
• Australian farmers used 50 percent fewer pesticide applications on Bt cotton.
• GM crops benefit the environment and conserve natural habitat for wildlife.
One of the advantages of gentecially modified foods and crops is the reduced need for tillage or plowing,
allowing farmers to adopt conservation or “no-till” practices. In the United States alone, these practices and
other conservation measures are reducing soil erosion by 1 billion tons and saving consumers $3.5 billion in
water treatment costs annually.
Biotech crops also have played an important role in boosting the productivity of existing farmland — enough to
allow for the protection of at least 400 million acres of prairies, forests and other natural areas from cultivation
over the past decade. These areas provide food and shelter for wildlife and preserve biodiversity.
• Farmers growing biotech crops increased their income by US$44 billion (1996-2007) -- half generated in
industrial countries and half in developing nations.
Farmers have increased income through higher yields and lower production costs — including fewer pesticide
applications and the more efficient use of farm labor. Research indicates an increase in income is consistent
worldwide with significant economic benefits realized by small- and large-scale farmers alike.
• Farmers are marketing more than US$44 billion of GM crops to processors and consumers around the
world each year. Food, feed and fiber markets are open and available for biotech crops.
• In 2007, farmers planting biotech crops earned an additional US$10 billion -- US$6 billion in
developing countries and US$4 billion in industrial countries -- due to increased crop yields and/or
decreased production costs.
• Chinese farmers planting Bt cotton realized a three-year average yield increase of 24 percent and net
economic returns of US$332 per hectare (US$132 per acre) compared to conventional cotton farmers.
• Bt cotton farmers in South Africa consistently experienced higher yields and increased revenues of
US$86 to $93 per hectare (US$34 to $37 per acre) compared to conventional cotton.
• Hawaiian farmers planting ringspot-tolerant papaya increased their incomes by more than US$3,000 per
hectare (US$1,200 per acre) due to average yield increases of 44 percent over conventionally bred
varieties, and saved their industry.
• A century of discoveries and scientific research make plant biotechnology possible.
People have always strived to grow better, more plentiful foods. As early as 5000 BC, farmers began saving
their best and sweetest corn to use as seed the next year. But it wasn’t until 1865 that Mendel concluded “unseen
particles” pass these traits from generation to generation.
Researchers then began to understand DNA and determined that the cells of all living things are composed of
 the same basic components. In 1953, Watson and Crick defined the structure of DNA, allowing us to understand
how cells store, duplicate and pass genetic information. By 1973, Cohen and Boyer had isolated and moved a
gene — a specific piece of DNA — from one organism to another.
Each of these discoveries paved the way for great improvements in plant breeding. In 1982, researchers
genetically modified a plant cell for the first time — making precise, controlled improvements in plant breeding
possible. Farmers planted the first large-scale commercial biotech crop in the United States in 1996.
Today, after a decade of use on more than 1 billion acres worldwide, crops developed through biotechnology
have delivered significant benefits and a proven record of safe use. The next decade with plant biotechnology
holds even more promise.
© 2009 Monsanto Company. All rights reserved. The copyright holder consents to the use of this material and the
images in the published context only and solely for the purpose of promoting the benefits of agricultural biotechnology.

Study Finds Monsanto's GMO Corn Causes Organ Damage in Rodents

by Brian Merchant, Brooklyn, New York on 01.13.10

Few subjects attract more ire and debate than genetically modified foods--and Monsanto reigns over the entire industry.
The very idea of genetically engineering crops has always made many queasy--and now, literally so. A breakthrough
report from the International Journal of Biological Sciences has just found that three separate kinds of Monsanto's
genetically modified corn causes organ damage in rats.
Food Freedom bluntly parses the report: "In what is being described as the first ever and most comprehensive study of
the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers have linked organ damage with consumption
of Monsanto's GM maize." Woops. All three of the kinds of corn have been approved by numerous food safety boards,
and are widely available in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere.
From the study, which was carried out by the Committee of Independent Research and Information on Genetic
Engineering:
The data "clearly underlines adverse impacts on kidneys and liver, the dietary detoxifying organs, as well
as different levels of damages to heart, adrenal glands, spleen and haematopoietic system," reported Gilles-
Eric Séralini, a molecular biologist at the University of Caen.

Scary stuff--this may be the first time that such distinctly adverse health effects have been confirmed by science (the
first paper making similar claims surfaced in 2007).

The conclusion of the report? That the "raw data from all three GMO studies reveal novel pesticide residues will be
present in food and feed and may pose grave health risks to those consuming them," according to Food Freedom. Let's
just reiterate that last part again: the pesticide residues will be present in food, and may pose grave health risks to
anything--or anyone--eating them.
In the scientific study, the researchers have called for
"an immediate ban on the import and cultivation of these GMOs and strongly recommend additional long-
term (up to two years) and multi-generational animal feeding studies on at least three species to provide
true scientifically valid data on the acute and chronic toxic effects of GM crops, feed and foods."

This is big news--if this data does prove conclusive, it could be the most persuasive evidence yet that GMO cultivation
is dangerous.

Monsanto's GMO Corn Linked To Organ Failure, Study Reveals

In a study released by the International Journal of Biological Sciences, analyzing the effects of genetically modified
foods on mammalian health, researchers found that agricultural giant Monsanto's GM corn is linked to organ damage in
rats.
According to the study, which was summarized by Rady Ananda at Food Freedom, "Three varieties of Monsanto's GM
corn - Mon 863, insecticide-producing Mon 810, and Roundup® herbicide-absorbing NK 603 - were approved for
consumption by US, European and several other national food safety authorities."
Monsanto gathered its own crude statistical data after conducting a 90-day study, even though chronic problems can
rarely be found after 90 days, and concluded that the corn was safe for consumption. The stamp of approval may have
been premature, however.
In the conclusion of the IJBS study, researchers wrote:
"Effects were mostly concentrated in kidney and liver function, the two major diet detoxification organs,
but in detail differed with each GM type. In addition, some effects on heart, adrenal, spleen and blood cells
were also frequently noted. As there normally exists sex differences in liver and kidney metabolism, the
highly statistically significant disturbances in the function of these organs, seen between male and female
rats, cannot be dismissed as biologically insignificant as has been proposed by others. We therefore
conclude that our data strongly suggests that these GM maize varieties induce a state of hepatorenal
toxicity....These substances have never before been an integral part of the human or animal diet and
therefore their health consequences for those who consume them, especially over long time periods are
currently unknown."

Monsanto has immediately responded to the study, stating that the research is "based on faulty analytical methods and
reasoning and do not call into question the safety findings for these products."
The IJBS study's author Gilles-Eric Séralini responded to the Monsanto statement on the blog, Food Freedom, "Our
study contradicts Monsanto conclusions because Monsanto systematically neglects significant health effects in
mammals that are different in males and females eating GMOs, or not proportional to the dose. This is a very serious
mistake, dramatic for public health. This is the major conclusion revealed by our work, the only careful reanalysis of
Monsanto crude statistical data."