Making a contribution to our growing energy needs – It is well known that our energy needs are growing. Agricultural biotechnology is playing a role to meet this growing demand today and is poised to do so tomorrow.
• Ethanol – Production of ethanol—derived from corn, sugarcane and other crops—is up 300% in the U.S. since 2000.6 In fact,more than 40% of the gasoline used in the country today is actually a blended fuel containing up to 10% ethanol.
• Biodiesel – made from soybeans and other oilseed crops—is increasingly having an impact today through its use in farm equipment, trucks and buses. Sales of biodiesel in the U.S. have
tripled since 2004 and are expected to exceed 200 million gallons this year—up 100-fold since 2000.Boosting crop yields – Biotechnology helped increase crop yields by 8.34 billion pounds in 2005, according to experts.9 Take corn, for instance—since the introduction of biotech corn in 1996, yields have increased more than 33.1%.10 This growth is expected to continue in the
coming years with more advances in technology. Higher yields mean more grain for food and fuel – Biotechnology has boosted the amount of grain produced per acre. This is important
because farmable land is limited, yet the demand for grain for both food and fuel is growing dramatically. Improved yields from biotechnology are playing an important role in meeting the growing demand for grains. More yield per acre equals more grain for food and more grain for fuel. Helping reduce foreign oil imports – The production and use of nearly 5
billion gallons of ethanol in 2006 reduced America’s dependency on imported oil by 170 million barrels,11 equal to nearly a month’s worth of U.S. imports from OPEC.12 At current prices, this means $11 billion stayed in the U.S. instead of going overseas. A small contribution overall, but a
step in the right direction.13
