www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

Genetically modified crops have delivered environmental benefits, put more
money in farmers' pockets and helped combat global warming, a new report
says, January 2007.

A review of the first decade of commercially grown GM crops, by UK-based
consultants PGS Economics, has found large gains from reduced use of
pesticides.

"Farmers used almost 224 million kilograms less pesticide with GM crops
between 1996 and 2005, a reduction of 7 per cent," the PGS study said.

"This represents about 40 per cent of the annual volume of pesticides used
in the European Union."

The study found farmers earned higher incomes in every country where GM
crops were grown.

Higher productivity and lower costs had boosted GM crop incomes by $36
billion since 1996, it said.

In 2005 alone, GM farmers earned $7 billion in extra income.

The study also found GM crops had also helped reduce greenhouse emissions.

The use of low or no-tillage systems associated with GM crops had resulted
in more plant residue being stored, or "sequestered", in the soil, it said.

This had saved the equivalent of eight billion kg of carbon dioxide
emissions in 2005.

Lower pesticide use and less ploughing also meant less fuel was used, saving
a billion kg in emissions, the study said.

These carbon dioxide impacts were the equivalent of removing four million
cars from the road for a year, it said.

Last year, GM crops were grown by 22 countries on 102 million hectares.

The US, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India and China were the leading GM
producers, with soy bean, maize, cotton and canola the main GM crops.

Federal Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran said Australia was falling
behind internationally by failing to adopt GM crops.

He criticised state government moratoriums on GM canola, saying farmers
faced higher costs without any extra return as long as the bans remained in
place.

But Labor's federal agriculture spokesman, Kerry O'Brien, said he wasn't
convinced GM crops should get the commercial go-ahead in Australia.

There was still no general community acceptance and environmental and human
health issues had not been properly addressed, he said.

But he said he "remained to be convinced" that market issues were a valid
reason for opposing GM crops.

Gene Ethics director Bob Phelps said global GM figures were inflated and
ignored negative impacts.

GM crops developed tolerance to weed killers and produced their own insect
toxins, he said.

[theweeklytimes.news.com.au]