New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) How does the rest of the world looks at genetically modified (GM) crops? First introduced 15 years ago, GM crops are grown in a handful of countries with highly industrialised, export-oriented agricultural sectors.
As per a 2009 report by Friends of the World International, a grassroot environmental network in 77 countries, nearly 90 percent of the GM crops planted area was found in just six countries in North and South America.

There are five main GM crops: GM Soy, GM Cotton, GM Corn, GM Canola and GM Maize. There are also relatively small patches of genetically modified papaya and squash.

“One country alone, the United States, plants over 50 percent of the world’s GM crops. Less than three percent of crop land in India and China is planted with GM crops, almost exclusively GM cotton. In the 27 countries of the European Union (EU), GM crop cultivation represents a mere 0.21 percent of agricultural land,” said the report titled “Who benefits from GM crops”.

In the EU, the overall area under GM crop cultivation has dropped considerably. This is partly because in 2008, France banned Monsanto’s Bt maize on health and environmental grounds. Only seven countries out of the 27 EU member-states now grow GM maize, the only GM crop allowed to be grown in the EU, according to the report.

Fourteen countries — namely, the US, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Canada, India, China, South Africa, Uruguay, Australia, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania and Spain are termed by the GM industry as “mega-biotech countries” which have a planting of more than 50,000 hectares of GM crops each.

Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand along with Australia, Brazil and Saudi Arabia have stringent labelling rules in place, something which was also proposed in India in 2006.

The US, Canada and Argentina, some of the largest GM producers accounting for 80 percent of global produce, do not have similar labelling rules.