Third Party Studies

• Towards Standardization of Life-Cycle Metrics for Biofuels: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Mitigation and Net Energy Yield (PDF - 1.09 MB)
  Adam J. Liska and Kenneth G. Cassman - 2008
  Reducing reliance on imported petroleum, the potential for GHG mitigation, and the ability to produce biofuel feedstocks without negative environmental consequences are the primary justifications for expansion of biofuels. Ensuring that biofuel systems meet these expectations is crucial to maintaining public and political support for favorable government policies and incentives that foster continued growth of the biofuel industry.
• Biofuels, Land Use Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Some Unexplored Variables (PDF - 181 KB)
  Hyungtae Kim, Seungdo Kim and Bruce E. Dale - 2008
  Greenhouse gas release from land use change (the so-called “carbon debt”) has been identified as a potentially significant contributor to the environmental profile of biofuels. The time required for biofuels to overcome this carbon debt due to land use change and begin providing cumulative greenhouse gas benefits is referred to as the “payback period” and has been estimated to be 100-1000 years depending on the specific ecosystem involved in the land use change event. Two mechanisms for land use change exist: “direct” land use change, in which the land use change occurs as part of a specific supply chain for a specific biofuel production facility, and “indirect” land use change, in which market forces act to produce land use change in land that is not part of a specific biofuel supply chain, including, for example, hypothetical land use change on another continent.
• Do European Consumers Buy GM Foods? (PDF - 2.94 MB)
  King's College London - 2008
  Following a decade of argument in Europe, the 2004 introduction by the EU of mandatory labelling for GM foods, the widespread importation into European countries of GM-animal feed, and the rapid development of GM agriculture and products in many parts of the world, it was pertinent to inquire how European consumers respond when offered the opportunity of buying GM-products in the familiar environment of their normal food shops.
• Food Biotechnology: Consumer perceptions of food biotechnology in Asia (PDF - 71 KB)
  Asian Food Information Centre - 2008
  Genetically modified foods will most likely become an increasing feature of the Asian diet in light of the region's growing demand for high volumes of quality food. The Asian Food Information Centre (AFIC) conducted this consumer research to provide insights on how consumers in Asia perceive the use of biotechnology to produce foods and how likely consumers are to accept the various benefits biotechnology derived foods may bring.
• An Analysis of Transgenic Field Trials in the United States (PDF - 658 KB)
  Seed Biotechnology Center - 2008
  This report is an evaluation of the current status of biotech field trials of regulated traits in the United States as of June 6th, 2007 in the context of their potential impact on the coexistence of different production systems and market sectors.
• Biotech crops: evidence, outcomes and impacts 1996-2006 (PDF - 361 KB)
  PG Economics Limited - 2008
  This brief is intended for use by a wide range of people with interests in agriculture and the environment. As a summary of the key findings relating to the impact of biotech crops (1996-2006), this brief focuses on yield effects, as detailed in the peer review scientific journal article "Global impact of biotech crops: socio-economic and environmental effects 1996-20061" by Graham Brookes and Peter Barfoot.
• Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (PDF - 598 KB)
  National Research Council - 2008
  This study — requested by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — identifies 60 emerging innovations in science and technology that have the potential to improve agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
• Scientific and technical contribution to the development of an overall health strategy in the area of GMOs
  (PDF - 956 KB)
  Joint Research Center - 2008
  The present study is intended to contribute to an open debate with a broad range of stakeholders on the potential health impact associated with the consumption of GMOs by providing up-to-date opinions of experts in this field.
• Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in the U.S.
  USDA Economic Research Service - 2008
  U.S. farmers have adopted genetically engineered (GE) crops widely since their introduction in 1996, notwithstanding uncertainty about consumer acceptance and economic and environmental impacts. Soybeans and cotton genetically engineered with herbicide-tolerant traits have been the most widely and rapidly adopted GE crops in the U.S., followed by insect-resistant cotton and corn. This product summarizes the extent of adoption of herbicide-tolerant and insect–resistant crops since their introduction in 1996.
• GM crops: global socio-economic and environmental impacts 1996-2006 (PDF - 1.4 MB)
  Graham Brookes, Peter Barfoot - 2008
  This study presents the findings of research into the global socio-economic and environmental impact of GM crops in the eleven years since they were first commercially planted on a significant area. It focuses on the farm level economic effects, the environmental impact resulting from changes in the use of insecticides and herbicides, and the contribution towards reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

• Opposition to transgenic technologies: ideology, interests and collective action frames (PDF - 402 KB)
  Ronald J. Herring - 2008
  Genetic engineering has enabled significant, accepted innovations in medicine and other fields. In agriculture, however, a global cognitive divide around 'genetically modified organisms' (GMOs) has limited the diffusion and scope of this technology. The framing of agricultural products of recombinant DNA technology as GMOs lacks biological coherence, but has proved to be a powerful frame for opposition. Disaggregating the concept of the 'GMO' is a necessary condition for confronting misconceptions that constrain the use of biotechnology in addressing imperatives of development and escalating challenges from nature, especially in less-industrialized nations.

• Is Organic Beef and Dairy Production a Responsible Use of Our Resources? (PDF - 115 KB)
  Dr. Thomas E. Elam - 2007
  Unless agriculture is willing to proactively make its case for the use of high yield technology to feed the world those who favor resource conservation and efficiency run the risk of losing the battle for the hearts and minds of a large portion of the consuming public. To do so would result in less global food production per person, higher food costs, and a lower standard of living.

• Biotechnology-Derived Crops Planted in 2004 - Impacts on US Agriculture (PDF - 928 KB)
  Sujatha Sankula Ph.D, Gregory Marmon, Edward Blumenthal - 2005
  The intense debate over agricultural biotechnology and its applications focused mainly on hypothetical risks and questions related to value, safety, and impacts (agronomic, economic, and environmental) of biotechnology-derived crops. The last ten years have seen many of these questions put to rest. Biotechnology-derived crops have been proven to be economically viable, environmentally sustainable, and as safe as, if not safer, than their conventional counterparts. As a matter of fact, positive impacts that stemmed from the technology served as the primary driving force for the increased adoption of these crops each year across the globe and throughout the United States as
  well.

• Conservation tillage and plant biotechnology: How new technologies can improve the environment by reducing the need to plow (PDF - 751 KB)
  Richard Fawcett, Dan Towery - 2002
  Herbicide-tolerant crops developed through biotechnology have provided farmers with an additional weed
  management tool. They have solved some weed control problems faced by conservation tillage farmers and
  simplified weed control. An analysis of surveys conducted since the introduction of herbicide-tolerant
  crops strongly supports the conclusion that these crops developed through plant biotechnology are facilitating the continued expansion of conservation tillage,especially no-till. As more acres are converted to conservation tillage, and especially no-till, significant environmental benefits will be derived.

• The payoffs to transgenic field crops: An assessment of the evidence (PDF - 218 KB)
  Michele C. Marra, Philip G. Pardey, Julian M. Alston - 2002
  The purpose of this study is to compile and characterize the farm-level evidence of the impacts of transgenic field crops available in the public domain and to determine if any general implications can be drawn from it. The studies show that, compared to their conventional counterparts, transgenic crops have consistently higher average profit and, for the most part, lower pesticide use.