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Science 24 January 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5606, p. 491
DOI: 10.1126/science.299.5606.491c
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ScienceScope

Controversy didn't keep farmers from planting a record number of genetically modified (GM) crops last year, according to a new survey. GM plantings in 2002 rose 12%, to 59 million hectares, estimates the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), a nonprofit group based in Manila, the Philippines.

Figure 1

CREDIT: SCOTT BRUNNER/BEDFORD TIMES/AP

More than one-fifth of the world's soybean, corn, cotton, and canola fields are now sown with GM seed, concludes the annual survey, which was released 15 January. Users include nearly 6 million farmers in 16 countries, up from 5 million farmers in 13 nations in 2001. The United States, Argentina, Canada, and China topped the list of growers, with India, Colombia, and Honduras appearing for the first time.

Critics say GM crops threaten human health and the environment, and some nations have barred their use on farms or in food (Science, 8 November 2002, p. 1153). Despite such opposition, crop scientist and ISAAA head Clive James claims that "biotechnology continues to be the most rapidly adopted technology in agricultural history."

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)