The Non-GMO Project is deeply grateful to the farmers across the globe who are helping to preserve and build our non-GMO food supply. The following countries produced record numbers of non-GMO crops during the 2017 growing season. Join us in celebrating this year’s non-GMO harvest!

Protecting Our Non-GMOAcreage

Since the introduction of genetically engineered crops, GMO cultivation has grown to more than 185 million hectares in 26 countries. While 89% of arable land planted globally is still non-GMO, the biotech industry continues to introduce more engineered crops and to push adoption of GMOs in countries around the world.

Thankfully, more than 60 countries around the world – including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union – require GMOs to be labeled. Globally, there are 300 regions with outright bans on growing GMOs.

Visit livingnongmo.org to learn more.

The Butterfly is More Important than Ever

The Non-GMO Project believes everyone has a right to know what is in their food and deserves access to non-GMO choices. This vision for a non-GMO future is threatened as products derived from new genetic engineering technologies such as gene-editing and synthetic biology continue to enter the food supply.

Unfortuantely, North American consumers cannot depend on their governments to protect their right to know. Federal legislation passed in 2016 has effectively precluded meaningful, mandatory GMO labeling in the United States, and the FDA has plans to operate a $3 million pro-GMO campaign to “educate” the public on the safety of genetic engineering. With the biotechnology industry rapidly growing and governments failing to support transparency, it is clear that the Non-GMO Project Butterfly is more important than ever.

A Mission Worth Supporting

As we enter this season of giving, we hope you will consider supporting the work of the Non-GMO Project with a donation. As a small nonprofit, we depend on your generosity to help us continue to lead the way in protecting and educating the public so that we have a safe and healthy non-GMO food supply for future generations.

Donate today at nongmoproject.org/donate.

MaliProduction of non-GMO corn in Ecuador is expected to rise 17% this year to a total of 1.4 million tons. 1

Record yields of non-GMO soy in Uruguay are expected to produce up to 3.4 million tons in 2017. 5

Setting a ten year record, Mali grew 576 million pounds of non-GMO cotton during the 2016-2017 growing season. 2

Ecuador

2017 NON-GMO GROWING SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

BUT THERE IS STILL MORE WORK TO BE DONE.. .

2.2 million hectares of non-GMO soy was harvested in Russia during the 2017 growing season. 3

Russia

Uruguay

Sources:

1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Country Brief on Ecuador. October 31, 2017.2. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Global Agricultural Information Network Report on Mali. July 5, 2017.3. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service,Global Agricultural Information Network Report on Russia. March 16, 2017.4. ISAAA, Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2016.5. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Global Agricultural Information Network Report on Uruguay. April 25, 2017.6. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Country Brief on Ukraine. October 2, 2017.7. Indian Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Area and Production of Horticulture Crops. 2016 - 2017.

What is a GMO?

A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic technology. This creates unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.

A growing body of evidence connects GMOs with health problems, environmental damage, and violation of farmers’ and consumers’ rights.

GMOs in Our Food Supply

Genetic modification affects many of the products we consume on a daily basis, most commonly in the form of ingredients derived from high-risk GMO crops. All of the following crops are in large-scale commercial production and are at high risk for being genetically engineered:

zucchini and summer squash

alfalfa canola corn cotton

soybean sugar beets papaya

One of the top producers of non-GMO corn worldwide, Ukraine grew an estimated 27 million tons in 2017. 7

UkraineThe largest producer of papaya in the world, India is expected to harvest 5.8 million tons in 2017. 6

India