LeDépartement étasunien de l’agricultureUSDAa publiéun rapport sur lesavantages et les risquesdes cultures transgéniques. Le rapport montre une consommationd’herbicidesen hausse avec l’accroissement des cultures génétiquement modifiées, qu’aucune hausse de rendement n’a pu êtreconstatée etque les prix des semencesont fortement augmenté. (Reuters / Farm Future 3.3 .2014)
a)
Source: Reuters, 28.02.2014
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/24/usda-gmo-report-idUSL1N0LT16M20140224
U.S. GMO crops show mix of benefits, concerns - USDA report
After more than 15 years of using genetically modified crops, U.S. farmers are continuing to see an array of benefits, but the impacts on the environmental and on food production are mixed, and high farmer use of a popular herbicide on GMO crops is a cause for ongoing concern, according to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"We are not characterizing them (GMO crops) as bad or good. We are just providing information," said Michael Livingston, a government agricultural economist and one of the authors of the report, prepared by the USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS).
The report, released online on Feb. 20, comes at a time when GMO crops are under intense scrutiny. Consumer groups are calling for tighter regulation of crop research and production and seeking mandatory labeling of foods made with GMOs; environmentalists are reporting increasing concerns about weed resistance and insect resistance to the crops and the chemicals used on them; and some scientific studies are reporting that the chemicals used on the crops are linked to disease and illness.
As well, the report comes as the USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency are in the final stages of approving the commercialization of a new GMO crop and chemical product package developed by Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical.
Genetically modified crops have become wildly popular with U.S. farmers since Monsanto Co introduced herbicide-tolerant "Roundup Ready" soybeans in the mid-1990s. Since then, Monsanto and other seed and chemical companies have introduced a variety of corn, soybeans, cotton, canola and others crops that tolerate being sprayed with herbicide or resist insects.
GMO crops were planted on about 169 million acres (68 million hectares) in the U.S. in 2013, about half the total land used for crops, the report said.
The seeds are patented and cost more than conventional seeds - the price of GMO soybean and corn seeds grew by about 50 percent between 2001 and 2010, according to the report. But the companies that sell them say they make weed and insect management easier for farmers and can help increase production.
But in its report, the ERS researchers said over the first 15 years of commercial use, GMO seeds have not been shown to definitively increase yield potentials, and "in fact, the yields of herbicide-tolerant or insect-resistant seeds may be occasionally lower than the yields of conventional varieties," the ERS report states.
Several researchers have found "no significant differences" between the net returns to farmers who use GMO herbicide tolerant seeds and those who use non-GMO seeds, the report states.
GMO crops that prevent yield losses to pests is more helpful to farmers financially, allowing crops more yield potential and higher monetary returns, the report states. As well, insecticide use on corn farms was down to 0.02 pound per acre in 2010, down from 0.21 pound per acre in 1995, the report states.
But while insecticide use has gone down, herbicide use on GMO corn is rising, the report states. Herbicide use on GMO corn increased from around 1.5 pounds per planted acre in 2001 to more than 2.0 pounds per planted acre in 2010. Herbicide use on non-GMO corn has remained relatively level during that same time frame, the ERS said.
And the over reliance on glyphosate has translated to an increase in weed resistance, which makes crop production much harder. Glyphosate is the chief ingredient in Roundup herbicide sold by Monsanto, and its use has translated to the glyphosate resistance seen in 14 weed species and biotypes in the United States, according to ERS.
Researchers have thousands of tests underway in U.S. fields for new crops, ERS reported. As of September 2013, about 7,800 releases have been approved for genetically engineered (GE) corn, more than 2,200 for GE soybeans, more than 1,100 for GE cotton, and about 900 for GE potatoes.
Of those releases, 6772 were for GE varieties with herbicide tolerance, 4,809 for insect resistance, and 4,896 for product quality such as flavor or nutrition, and 5,190 for drought resistance.
Monsanto has the most authorized field releases with 6,782, followed by DuPont Pioneer, with 1,405.
b)
Quelle: Farm Futures, 3.3.2014
http://farmfutures.com/story-ers-report-recaps-15-years-gmos-0-109442-spx_0
USDA's Economic Research Service says questions persist about the potential of GE crops
Genetically modified crops have reached a high rate of adoption in the U.S., but more than 15 years after their commercial introduction, the USDA Economic Research Service in a new report says questions still exist about their potential benefits and risks.
The study, which looks impacts of GE technology on seed and tech suppliers, farmers and consumers, reviews price changes, adoption rates and general trends that have developed in the years since GE crops first hit the market.
The study is intended to update a 2006 ERS report, The First Decade of Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States.
U.S. farmers continue to adopt GE seeds at a high rate, ERS says. HT corn accounted for 85% of corn acreage in 2013, and HT cotton constituted 82% of cotton acreage. Meanwhile, farmers planted insect-resistant cotton on 75% of U.S. acreage and Bt corn 76% of corn acres.
The adoption of Bt crops increases yields by mitigating yield losses from insects. However, empirical evidence regarding the effect of HT crops on yields is mixed, the report said.
Generally, stacked seeds tend to have higher yields than conventional seeds or than seeds with only one GE trait. GE corn with stacked traits grew from 1% of corn acres in 2000 to 71% in 2013. Stacked seed varieties also accounted for 67% of cotton acres in 2013.
Planting Bt cotton and Bt corn seed is associated with higher net returns when pest pressure is high. The extent to which HT adoption affects net returns, however, is mixed. It depends primarily on how much weed control costs are reduced and seed costs are increased, the report said.
Insecticide and resistance
Farmers generally use less insecticide when they plant Bt corn and Bt cotton. Corn insecticide use by both GE seed adopters and non-adopters has decreased—only 9% of all U.S. corn farmers used insecticides in 2010.
Refuge use has helped delay the evolution of Bt resistance. However, there are some indications that insect resistance is developing to some Bt traits in some areas.
The adoption of HT crops has enabled farmers to substitute glyphosate for more toxic and persistent herbicides, but there are questions about weed resistance.
"An overreliance on glyphosate and a reduction in the diversity of weed management practices adopted by crop producers have contributed to the evolution of glyphosate resistance in 14 weed species and biotypes in the United States," the report says.
Price
The price of GE soybean and corn seeds grew by about 50% in real terms – adjusted for inflation – between 2001 and 2010. The price of GE cotton seed grew even faster, ERS says.
The yield advantage of Bt corn and Bt cotton over conventional seed has become larger in recent years as new Bt traits have been incorporated and stacked traits have become available. Planting Bt cotton and Bt corn continues to be more profitable, as measured by net returns, than planting conventional seeds.
Seed suppliers In reviewing GE crops' effect on seed suppliers, the ERS used the number of field releases for testing of GE crops reviewed by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The number of releases peaked in 2002, but biotech firms continue to develop new seeds rapidly. As of September 2013, about 7,800 releases were approved for GE corn, more than 2,200 for GE soybeans, more than 1,100 for GE cotton, and about 900 for GE potatoes, ERS says.
Monsanto leads the number of field releases at 6,782, Pioneer/DuPont is second with 1,405, Syngenta is third with 565, and USDA's Agricultural Research Service rounds out the top four with 370.
Overall, biotech continues to evolve – releases of GE varieties with agronomic properties (like drought resistance) jumped from 1,043 in 2005 to 5,190 in 2013.
Consumers Consumer acceptance of foods with GE ingredients varies with product characteristics, geography, and the information that consumers are exposed to, ERS says. Most studies in industrialized nations find that consumers are willing to pay a premium for foods that don't contain GE ingredients. However, studies in developing countries yield more mixed results.
ERS says that some studies, including some with a focus on GE ingredients with positive enhancements like nutrition benefits, find consumers to be willing to try GE foods and even to pay a premium for them, while others find a willingness to pay a premium for non-GE foods.
Most studies have shown that willingness-to-pay for non-GE foods is higher in the EU, where some retailers have policies limiting the use of GE ingredients. Non-GE foods are available in the United States, but there is evidence that such foods represent a small share of retail food markets.
View the ERS' full study, Genetically Engineered Crops in the United States, online.
