The seed companies won't be growing as much this summer. Fear about the safety of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, has resulted in restrictions on imports by European countries and an outcry in the United States. The Japanese government, meanwhile, accepted a proposal in late April to screen foods that contain genetically modified ingredients before putting them on the market. Last year, Japan bought 76 percent of its soybeans from the United States and 96 percent of its corn. Closer to home, a USDA survey of farmers' planting intentions found that growers would plant only 19 percent of corn acreage with insecticide corn, down from 25 percent last year, in the major producing states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Bt corn contains a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil bacterium.
The gene helps the corn plant to produce its own insecticide to fight a major pest, the European corn borer, eliminating the need to spray the crop with chemicals. Spokesmen for the two largest seed producers, Pioneer HiBred International, now a subsidiary of DuPont Co. of Wilmington, Del., and Monsanto Co., recently acquired by Pharmacia Corp., said corn sales were running flat to down, while soybean sales were flat to up. But there have been some premium prices paid for conventional grain, stuff grown on contract for particular customers. Good noted that, ultimately, farmers would grow the crops that would give them the best economic advantage. The company said the vitamin-rich rice would be made available first in Asia, Africa and South America, where children suffer from malnutrition.