Campaigners clash over industry claims of rise in GM crops

Plants de soja©NORBERTO DUARTE / AFP


10/02/2012 5:38 pm

NGOs accuse industry body of inflating claims that the acreage of biotech crops grew by 8% in 2011

Pro- and anti-GM organisations clashed on Tuesday over the accuracy of industry figures that suggested a rise internationally of 8% in the acreage of GM crops in 2011, a 16th straight rise since they were first sold in 1996.

The International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotic Applications (ISAAA), an industry body funded by GM companies including Monsanto, Bayer CropScience and CropLife International, claimed in its annual report that biotech crops grew by 12m hectares, to 160 million hectares, in 2011.

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