From: Subject: Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 11:10:09 +0100 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01C3E4C6.206540B0"; type="text/html" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C3E4C6.206540B0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.cropgen.org/databases/cropgen2.nsf/0/B1100AA6F9A1B34D80256E240046D78E?opendocument

GM crops and=20 Europe

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Two reports have = recently=20 commented on the economic implications of GM crops for=20 Europe.

A study by the Flanders=20 Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) in Belgium = argues that=20 Europe has missed out economically through the ban on genetically = modified=20 (GM) crops. Matty Demont and Eric Tollens, researchers at the = Catholic=20 University of Leuven, base their findings on two case studies on = GM sugar=20 beets and corn.

They concluded = that the=20 present situation (in which transgenic sugar beets are barred) is = not=20 economically rational. To estimate the consequences of the ban on=20 transgene sugar beets in the period from 1996 to 2000, Demond and = Tollens=20 used a simulation model that took into account agricultural = policy, the=20 cultivation data of sugar beet, and the technology subsidy for = transgene=20 crops. By not choosing to grow transgene sugar beets, the Belgian = sugar=20 beet growers have missed out on approximately EUR15 million during = this=20 five-year period, and that worldwide up to EUR1 billion could have = been=20 earned by cultivating these sugar beets.

For the study of transgenic corn in Spain, the = researchers=20 noted that farmers gained EUR 1.7 million annually. Their profit = was=20 attributed to higher yield and lower cost from the reduced use of=20 pesticide. The biotech industry also reaped an annual profit of = EUR 0.5=20 million; thud, about 75% of the profits went to the farmers and = 25% to the=20 biotech industry.

A paper from = the National=20 Center for Food and Agricultural Policy concludes that crop pests = need to=20 be controlled in order to maintain high yields. If inadequate pest = control=20 lowers crop yields, more land is required for crop production.=20

Currently in Europe, regular, = multiple=20 herbicide applications control weeds in sugar beets, wheat, = rapeseed,=20 maize and rice. While effective, these weed control sprays are = expensive.=20 Biotech herbicide tolerant crops would enable European growers to = use=20 fewer herbicide active ingredients at a lower cost to achieve = equivalent=20 (maize, wheat, rice) or better (sugar beet, rapeseed) control with = higher=20 yields.

Weeds are a serious pest = problem,=20 but plant diseases and insects take their toll on production as = well.=20 European maize growers do not regularly use insecticides to = control corn=20 borers, and Europe loses 5% of its maize production to borers = annually.=20 The adoption of insect resistant maize varieties would prevent = this loss.=20 Plant viruses spread by insects have had a profound effect on = tomato and=20 stone fruit production in Europe. Apricots can no longer be grown = in=20 certain regions. The San Marzano tomato is disappearing from the = Campania=20 region in Italy due to virus problems. Biotech. stone fruit and = tomatoes=20 have been developed at European institutions and have shown a high = degree=20 of resistance to the viruses in research trials. Use of biotech = varieties=20 could eliminate the losses and enable tomato growers to reduce = their use=20 of insecticides.

U.S. growers = have planted=20 herbicide tolerant rapeseed (canola) and maize as well as insect = resistant=20 maize. Due to marketing uncertainties, U.S. growers have not = planted=20 herbicide tolerant sugar beets even though they have been approved = and=20 commercialized. The E.U. moratorium on approving new biotech crops = has=20 denied European growers access to the sugar beet as well resulting = in=20 continued reliance on expensive weed control programs. The only = biotech=20 crop currently planted in the European Union is insect resistant = maize in=20 Spain, which has resulted in higher profitability among=20 adopters.

For one hundred years,=20 researchers have been searching for an effective way to control = late=20 blight of potatoes, the disease that caused the Irish Potato = Famine=20 causing the deaths of millions of people. Potatoes can be grown in = Europe=20 and the United States because growers make 8- 12 applications of=20 fungicides to every acre each year. Researchers have developed a = biotech=20 potato that prevents the disease as a result of inserting one gene = from=20 another plant species. Thus, there is another choice to manage = this=20 pestilence.

The study clearly = shows that=20 the option of controlling pests with biotech crops has great = potential in=20 Europe. Most of the biotech cultivars have been tested in Europe = and have=20 performed well. Several of the biotech crops have been developed = by=20 European institutions and await approval.

Growers adopt new technology when it improves their = financial=20 conditions. U.S. growers are planting 80 million acres with = biotech crops=20 because improved pest control at lower cost has improved their = bottom=20 lines. European farmers face the same pests and could experience = the same=20 improved pest control and cost savings.

Sources:

M. = Demont and E.=20 Tollens (December 23td, 2003). Major = economic=20 consequences from the moratorium on genetically modified=20 crops. http://www.vib.be/

L. Gianessi, S. Sankula and N. Reigner (December = 2003).=20 Plant biotechnology: potential impact = for=20 improving pest management in European agriculture. http://www.ncfap.org/

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