GMO industry group sees growing global acceptance

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Feb 13 (Reuters) - Farmers around the world increased plantings of genetically modified crops in 2007, according to a biotech crop promotion group that said the controversial crops have delivered "substantial economic and environmental benefits" to the world's farmers.

The findings came under harsh attack Wednesday from biotech opponents, including Friends of the Earth, which issued a separate report claiming genetically modified (GM) crops have led to a large increase in chemical use and have failed to increase yields or tackle world hunger and poverty.

But Clive James, the chairman of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, also known as ISAAA, said global acceptance of genetically modified crops was unstoppable.

"It's the fastest-adopted technology in agriculture as far as crops are concerned," said James. "If Friends of the Earth is right, then 50 million farmers over a 12-year period in 23 countries are all wrong."

The ISAAA report said corn, soybeans and other crops were planted on 282.4 million acres, or 114.3 million hectares, in 23 countries in 2007. That is in addition to the 29 countries that have granted regulatory approvals for biotech crops for import for feed and food use.

The 2007 plantings were up 12 percent from 2006, the second-highest increase in biotech crop area in the last five years, according to ISAAA, which receives funding from biotech companies such as Monsanto (MON.N), DuPont's (DD.N) Pioneer Hi-Bred International and Syngenta (SYNN.VX), as well as a range of private organizations and governmental entities. About 9 percent of the biotech crop area was used for biofuel production, primarily in the United States.

ISAAA said the United States, Argentina and Brazil led the rest of the world in biotech plantings, though farmers in Canada, India, and China were also noted as "principal adopters" of biotech crops.

Biotech acreage is up because the crops have performed well and "delivered significant economic, environmental, health and social benefits to both small and large farmers in developing and industrial countries," the ISAAA report said.

ISAAA said millions of small and "resource-poor" farmers benefited from biotech crops last year, and further adoption should help reduce poverty. Cotton growers in India, the report said, increased the area planted to biotech cotton because they were reaping increased yields while using less pesticide and bringing in more income.

But in the opposition report, Friends of the Earth and the Center for Food Safety dismissed many of ISAAA's claims.

"They make so many outrageous claims it is just ridiculous," said Bill Freese, a spokesman for the Friends of the Earth environmental defense organization.

The opposition report said genetically modified (GM) crops have led to a large increases in pesticide use and increased herbicide-resistant weeds. The groups said that the majority of GM crops are used to feed animals in rich countries rather than people in poorer nations.

"These crops really promote greater use of pesticides, and cause direct harm to the environment and small farmers," said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, a U.S.-based public interest advocacy group.

The groups said reported cotton yield gains are actually attributable more to favorable weather conditions in India and the United States and a shift to irrigation in South Africa.

Moreover, the groups say U.S. government data reveals a 15-fold increase in the use of glyphosate herbicide on soybeans, corn and cotton in the United States from 1994 to 2005, driven by adoption of Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" biotech crops, which thrive despite being sprayed directly with the weed killer.

The rising glyphosate use has spawned a growing epidemic of weeds resistant to the chemical, with 2.4 million U.S. acres infested with such "superweeds," the group said.

James said the opposition group data was flawed, and he predicted strong growth in plantings of biotech crops over the next several years, particularly in Asia, as strains of genetically enhanced rice are commercialized.

"Asia will be the place where you are going to get significant growth in new hectares from 2006 to 2015," James said. (Reporting by Carey Gillam; editing by Jim Marshall)