GMO plantings rise

By Jeremy Smith

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Plantings of genetically modified (GMO) crops are increasingly widespread, a biotech industry body said on Wednesday, despite some public opposition and warnings by environmentalists that they may be unsafe.

"After a dozen years of commercialization, biotech crops are still gaining ground with another year of growth and new countries joining the list of supporters," the biotech industry backed International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) said.

"With rising food prices globally, the benefits of biotech crops have never been more important," it added ahead of the release of its annual report on GMO crops.

International environment lobby Friends of the Earth (FoE) said there was a growing tide of anti-GMO opinion, particularly in Europe.

"Less than 2 percent of the total maize grown in the EU is genetically modified and five EU countries have now banned (U.S. biotech company) Monsanto maize because of growing evidence of its negative environmental impact," it said in a report timed to coincide with the ISAAA data.

FoE said GMO crops had not helped alleviate poverty and their yields were no higher than those of conventional crops -- a claim hotly disputed by the world's biotech companies.

"The vast majority of GM crops commercialized so far are destined for animal feed for the meat and livestock markets in rich industrialized nations rather than for feeding the poor," the FoE report said.

"FRANKENSTEIN FOODS"