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Question

my question is, what is the percentage of GMO vs NON GMO crops planted in the United states?

Submitted by: jueriksen21


Answer

Expert response from Community Manager

Moderator for GMOAnswers.com

Thursday, 24/09/2015 18:22

There are a few ways to consider answering this question, and one is to look at the percentage of each crop available as a GM variety, and how much of the acreage of each of those crops is planted in GM varieties. Expert of agricultural and resource economics, Janet Carpenter, explains in detail the percentage of each crop in her response to the question: “How many pounds of GM foods are produced each year in the U.S.A.” 

 

There are currently nine crops that are commercially available in the U.S. which are corn (field and sweet), soybeans, cotton, canola, alfalfa, sugar beets, papaya, squash and potato. A GM apple has also been approved to be grown in the U.S.

 

According to a research study done by the USDA in 2014: 

“Judging by the widespread adoption of GE seeds, farmers have benefited from them. U.S. farmers planted about 169 million acres of GE corn, soybeans, and cotton in 2013 (table 3), accounting for almost half of the estimated total land used to grow all U.S. crops.”

 

“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, 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.”

 

According to ISAAA (International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications), biotech crops are the fastest adopted crop technology in the history of modern agriculture. Explore the detailed list and explanation of percentage of GMO crops planted and acreage on a global scale here. 

 

We hope this answers your question. If you have any additional questions, please ask.