Who benefits from GM crops?

This paper provides a fact-based assessment of Genetically Modified (GM) crops around the world. Analysing documents from scientific technical bodies, industry, academia, governments, and civil society across a range of countries including Brazil, Argentina, USA, Pakistan and South Africa, it reports on new trends and findings with the aim of clearing up common misconceptions about the nature and impacts of GM crops.

The paper highlights that bio-technology proponents claim that genetically modified (GM) crops are good for consumers, farmers and the environment, and that they are growing in popularity around the world. Unfortunately, journalists often report such claims as fact without first subjecting them to critical scrutiny. The core assertion is that after more than a decade of worldwide commercialisation of GM crops, and increased penetration of GM crops in a few countries, it has failed to deliver the benefits that its proponents claim.

Key concluding points include that:

• GM crops continue to be the province of a handful of nations with highly industrialised, export-oriented agricultural sectors
• the biotech industry continues to insist that GM crops are needed to tackle the food needs of a growing population, yet provides no evidence to support this claim. Hunger is mainly attributable to poverty; lack of access to credit, land and inputs; and other political factors
• the majority of GM crops are not destined for hungry people in developing countries, but are used to feed animals, generate bio-fuels, and produce highly processed food products in rich countries. These facts suggest that GM crops have not increased food security for the world’s poor
  
• in 2007, the available evidence suggests that GM crops have had mostly neutral or negative environmental, social and economic impacts on the farmers and countries that have adopted them.