By Kara Rowland

A new "supercorn" with eight genetic modifications that make it even more
highly resistant to insects and weed killers than earlier versions is just
one of the agricultural developments Americans will see over the next
several years as scientific advances enable technicians to customize crop
plants with stacks of genes, biotechnology expert Clive James said.
Mr. James stressed the need for genetically modified crops to help farmers
grow more food on fewer acres as the world is running out of land and water
while the population is expected to climb to 9 billion by 2015.

"In the next 50 years, the global population will consume twice as much food
as the global population has consumed since the beginning of agriculture
10,000 years ago," Mr. James, chairman of the International Service for the
Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, told reporters and editors
Wednesday at The Washington Times. "You have a choice: You can think of it
as a problem, or we think of it as an opportunity."

Twelve million farmers in 23 countries are now using crops that have been
enhanced with additional genes to achieve benefits such as resistance to
pests and viruses, according to 2007 data from ISAAA, a nonprofit focused on
spreading biotechnology to alleviate hunger and poverty in developing
countries. Meanwhile, biotech crop area grew last year by 12 percent to
about 285 million acres.

The U.S. is the world's largest user of biotech crops, with about 80 percent
of processed food including genetically modified soybeans or corn, Mr. James
said. Ten other industrialized nations and 12 developing countries use the
technology, which was commercialized in 1996.

In India, farmers who used Bt cotton - cotton that had been combined with a
bacteria found in soil to resist insects - increased their crop yields by up
to 50 percent and income by up to $625 per acre, Mr. James said, citing
ISAAA data. They also saw environmental benefits, using 45 percent less
pesticide, he added.

"Is the food from these crops as safe as conventional food? The answer is
yes, and in some cases, safer," he said.

Not everyone supports the technology, however. Some environmental groups
like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth oppose genetically modified crops,
arguing they are unsafe or could have unforeseen consequences in the future.
While Mr. James said his organization is "pro-choice" - biotech crops should
not be forced on anyone - he was critical of groups he said were not being
constructive.

"If you go to Greenpeace and say, OK, how are you going to feed the world,
they say that's not our business," he said. "The activists have taken it
upon themselves to make a decision on behalf of [farmers who have used the
crops], which they shouldn't be doing. Let's ask these people." Mr. James
said much of the opposition to biotech crops stems from a lack of
understanding.

"Man doesn't handle change very well. I think what you've seen is a society
dealing with a new science and trying to get hold of it," he said, likening
the experience to initial opposition to pasteurized milk.

Ceding that biotechnology is not a "golden bullet," Mr. James nevertheless
stressed higher incomes and crop yields as undeniable benefits that result
in a better quality of life for poor farmers, who are able spend more time
with their families and less time in the fields plowing.

He was also optimistic about the spread of the technology to countries whose
governments have been slow to support it, citing Korean approval of biotech
crops and a strong endorsement from Sir David King, an influential English
scientist.

"For those not using this technology, the greatest risk associated with this
technology is not using it," Mr. James said, adding that countries who wait
will only fall further behind as crops with multiple genes - thus multiple
benefits - are introduced. "What you see today is the very, very small tip
of the iceberg."

GROWING TREND

The number of acres devoted to genetically modified crops increased 12
percent last year. As of 2007:

* There are 286 million acres of biotech crops worldwide
* They are being grown in 23 countries, 12 of them developing nations
* Twelve million farmers worldwide are growing them
* The United States is the world's largest grower of biotech crops, with 144
million acres under cultivation

www.checkbiotech.org