Interpreting numbers | While a report says more countries are embracing GM, an opponent says the numbers are skewed
An opponent of genetic modification isn’t disputing the numbers that show GM crops are spreading around the world.
Rather, it’s the way those numbers have been interpreted that’s misleading, says Lucy Sharratt, co-ordinator for the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network.
The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) released its annual report last month showing that farmers grew 25.5 million more acres of biotech crops in 2012, up six percent from the previous year for a total of 420.8 million acres worldwide.
“The numbers are always confusing because of the way that they’re presented. It’s a bit disingenuous,” said Sharratt, noting use is not equal among each of the 28 countries included in the tally.
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
The ISAAA noted the shift to developing countries in a news release, showing that 52 percent were grown in those countries compared to 48 percent in industrial countries.
“This growth is contrary to the prediction of critics, who prior to the commercialization of the technology in 1996 prematurely de-clared that biotech crops were only for industrial countries and would never be accepted and adopted by developing countries,” Clive James, the ISAAA report’s author, said in a news release.
The United States accounts for 41 percent of the worldwide total at 171.7 million acres.
“That is a simple way to see how this technology is not widely adopted across the world,” said Sharratt.
Stephen Yarrow, vice-president of plant biotechnology with CropLife Canada, had more confidence in the ISAAA’s interpretation of the numbers.
“What we’re seeing is that farmers are embracing the advantages of these varieties,” he said, referring to the 97.5 percent adoption rate of GM canola in Canada.
CBAN said the 2012 growth rate of six percent was lower than previous years, while a separate rebuttal from the Africa Centre for Biosafety said the numbers for South Africa were greatly inflated.
“I’m not a part of this survey that this group ISAAA does every year, but their numbers seem to speak for themselves,” said Yarrow.
While ISAAA highlights the introduction of biotech crops in Sudan and Cuba, Sharratt said the statistics from developing countries are skewed by countries such as Brazil and Argentina with larger, more industrialized agricultural sectors.
“Yes, there’s 28 countries on the list. What they’re growing and how much is a totally different question,” said Sharratt.
“Each country has their own story to tell about genetic engineering and the impacts of those crops, which really is just these four main crops of GM corn, canola, soy and cotton.”
