GMOs. Up from the dead

Genetically modified foods keep on growing

A DECADE ago, Franken-foods mauled Monsanto. The American agribusiness firm had hoped its fancy new seeds, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) designed to reduce pesticide use, would win over farmers the world over. In the event, a consumer backlash fomented by environmental activists in Europe scuppered those plans and even led to the fall of Robert Shapiro, the company's previously high-flying boss.

GMOs remain controversial. Despite a WTO ruling in February striking down Europe's moratorium on GM food, the European Commission pushed the EU's food-safety agency to make its GMO-evaluation process even stricter in April.

Another controversy erupted last month when British officials admitted that more than a hundred genetically modified trees are being grown in secret locations around the country. That reversed the government's previous position, and embarrassingly came on the heels of a rancorous UN meeting in Brazil where representatives warned that fast-growing GM trees could "wreak ecological havoc" by crowding out other species.

Companies that pursue GMOs are also still being hounded. On April 26th, DuPont faced a shareholder resolution at its annual meeting demanding that the firm "disclose any potentially material risk or 'off-balance sheet liability'" related to its push into GM foods. The measure failed, but activists have vowed to try again next year--and to pursue Dow Chemical and other firms keen on this technology with equal vigour.

So is this Monsanto all over again, and are GMOs really destined for the rubbish heap of history? Not at all. In fact, there is even reason to think they are at last ready for prime time. One reason is that while the EU has dithered, other parts of the world have forged ahead with GM crops. The technology is now accepted in more than 20 countries, including India, China, South Africa and Iran. Last year the billionth acre was planted, and growth rates remain in the double digits (see chart on previous page). On one estimate, GMOs made up more than half the world's soya crop by area, a quarter of its corn and over a tenth of its cotton.

Monsanto still dominates the $5.6 billion market for agricultural biotechnology. As the market for conventional seeds stagnates, however, rivals are taking aim. Last month, DuPont announced a cross-licensing deal and a joint venture with Syngenta, a Swiss seed giant, to sell GM corn and soyabean technology to seed producers. Peter Siggelko of Dow sees GMOs as such a big business opportunity that he vows his firm will remain steadfast in the face of activist shareholders: "We don't intend to budge--this is better and safer for farmers."

Activists complain that GM crops put farmers in the clutches of big business, but farmers in many countries do like them because they are pest-resistant or give better yields. Researchers at Monsanto and elsewhere are working quietly on the next potential breakthrough in agriculture: drought-resistant crops, which are meant to help farmers cope in an increasingly water-scarce world. The best news for boosters of GMOs is that a wave of innovative new foods is now coming out of the laboratories with properties that should directly benefit consumers.

Researchers in Pittsburgh have recently raised GM pigs that produce omega-3 fatty acids. These compounds, which help reduce the risk of heart disease, are typically derived from fish, and so taste unpleasant to some and carry the risk of increased mercury consumption. If pork is not to your taste, Monsanto and BASF will soon offer you soyabeans enriched with omega-3. Researchers in Arizona have just come up with an oral tuberculosis vaccine produced from a GM crop, while a rival team has come up with an oral vaccine produced in GM tobacco plants that can fight the E. coli bacterium (a common source of food poisoning).

Such "nutraceuticals" are undoubtedly impressive, but the biggest GMO success may come from a product that virtually every home owner with a lawn or garden will appreciate. Scotts Miracle-Gro, an American lawn-care firm, recently announced that it is developing genetically engineered strains of grass that are pest-proof and that grow so slowly that they may require no mowing. Yet even this breakthrough could prompt criticism--for it could mean that the only form of exercise taken by many middle-aged men will soon be history.

Article says that the GM food industry keeps on growing despite challenges.