who benefits from gm crops?

The report argues that the GM crop industry is built on unsubstantiated claims and that the technology primarily benefits biotech corporations rather than farmers or consumers. It documents rising public and legal opposition in Europe, the US, and Asia, while highlighting the environmental and health risks associated with herbicide-tolerant crops and the emergence of 'superweeds'. The document also examines the push for GM animals and the influence of the US government and the Gates Foundation in promoting GMOs in Africa and Latin America, often at the expense of local food sovereignty.

• The global area of agricultural land dedicated to GM crops is small, covering only 2.7% of all agricultural land in 2009, with over 97% of global farmland remaining GM-free.
• GM crops have not consistently increased yields or solved hunger; instead, they have led to increased pesticide use and the development of 'superweeds' in the US, which infested over 4.5 million hectares by July 2010.
• In the European Union, public opposition to GMOs rose to 61% by October 2010, and the total area under GM cultivation declined by 23% between 2008 and 2010.
• The US Supreme Court ruled in June 2010 that the selling and planting of Roundup Ready Alfalfa is illegal, recognizing the harm of transgenic contamination to organic and conventional farmers.
• Research links glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, to severe health issues including miscarriages, cancer, and damage to DNA and reproductive organs.
• The biotech industry is expanding into animals, with the US FDA considering the approval of GM Atlantic salmon for human consumption and applications pending for GM pigs in Canada and the US.
• In India, a moratorium on the commercial release of Bt brinjal has been in place since February 2010 due to concerns over human health, the environment, and native crop varieties.
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation exerts significant influence on African agriculture through the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and by purchasing US$23 million in Monsanto shares in August 2010.
• In Guatemala, food aid provided by the US and the World Food Program has been found to contain unauthorized GMOs, threatening local seed varieties and food sovereignty.
• In Malaysia, the release of GM Aedes aegypti mosquitoes by Oxitec has raised ethical and legal concerns, including the possibility that 3-4% of offspring survive despite being programmed to die.

APA

Zacune, J., Galeano, P., Jerónimo, C., & Kutty, S. L. (2011). who benefits from gm crops? Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/who-benefits-from-gm-crops_english.pdf

Chicago

Zacune, Joseph, Pablo Galeano, Claudia Jerónimo, and Sreedevi Lakshmi Kutty. who benefits from gm crops? Friends of the Earth International, 2011. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/who-benefits-from-gm-crops_english.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Zacune |first1=Joseph |last2=Galeano |first2=Pablo |last3=Jerónimo |first3=Claudia |last4=Kutty |first4=Sreedevi Lakshmi |title=who benefits from gm crops? |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=February 2011 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/who-benefits-from-gm-crops_english.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zacune2011who, author = {Zacune, Joseph and Galeano, Pablo and Jerónimo, Claudia and Kutty, Sreedevi Lakshmi}, title = {{who benefits from gm crops?}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2011}, month = feb, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/who-benefits-from-gm-crops_english.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }