What are the environmental benefits of GM crops?
One of the significant environmental benefits of GM crops is the dramatic reduction in pesticide use, with the size of the reduction varying between crops and introduced trait. In 2000, total global reduction in pesticide use was estimated at 22.3 million kg of formulated product as a result of using herbicide tolerant GM soybean, seed rape, cotton and corn varieties and insect protected GM cotton; the deployment of insect-resistant Bt varieties was estimated to have reduced the total world use of insecticides by 14%.1 In the USA, adoption of GM crops resulted in pesticide use reduction of 45.6 million pounds in 2001 (Gianessi et al. 2002).2 Use of Bt cotton in China has led to a 60-80% reduction in the use of foliar insecticides3 and an estimated 15,000 tons reduction in pesticide use.4 Herbicide tolerant soybean farmers in North America are able to spray less to control weeds and use no-till or conservation-till cultivation systems.5,6,7 Reduced use of pesticides can significantly de
