What sort of market share do GE crops have compared to organic crops? Does it project positive, neutral, or negative growth and by how much?

Expert response from Janet Carpenter

Owner, J E Carpenter Consulting LLC M.S. Agricultural and Resource Economics

Wednesday, 13/04/2016 12:45

GE crops are grown on nearly ½ of all U.S. cropland (182 million acres in 2012), while USDA-certified organic crops are grown on a much smaller acreage (5.4 million acres in 2011).  However, there is little overlap in which crops are grown with GE varieties versus certified organic production systems. The most widespread adoption of GE crops is in major crops such as corn, soybean, cotton, canola and sugarbeet, for which over 90 percent of acreage is planted with GE varieties. Lower adoption rates are seen in alfalfa, sweet corn, squash and papaya. Adoption of GE varieties in fruit and vegetable crops remains very low, 0.6 percent of vegetable acres and 0.03 percent of fruit acres. On the other hand, certified organic corn and soybean acreage remains low, 0.3 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, while over 10 percent of some major vegetable crops (lettuce, carrots and squash) are grown in certified organic systems. Recent trends for certified organic crop production would indicate continued growth in the sector. (See 2016 USDA Economic Research Service Report, Economic Issues in the Coexistence of Organic, Genetically Engineered (GE) and non-GE Crops.) And while adoption of GE varieties seems to have reached a plateau in major field crops, such as corn and soybeans, continued growth will come from the introduction of technology in additional crops, for example, with the recent regulatory approval of GE apples and potatoes.