GMO timeline: 1976-2011

By Kelsey Blackwell

What significant events led the United States to be the number one producer of genetically engineered (GE) crops worldwide, and how did the EU convince big food manufacturers and major food chains such as Burger King and McDonald's to commit to removing all GE ingredients?

• 1976: Monsanto patents Roundup herbicide (active ingredient: glyphosate). The move helps the company later become the world's leading herbicide producer.
• 1980: The Patent and Trademark Office awards the first utility patent on life in the landmark case Diamond v. Chakrabarty. The decision allows for the first time seeds to be patented. Today, just three companies (Monsanto, Syngenta and Bayer) sell most of the genetically modified seeds available worldwide

• 1994: Monsanto wins regulatory approval for its first biotech product, a hormone called Posilac (rBST or rBGH) which is given to dairy cows to increase milk production by up to 10 pounds per day. Not long after its introduction, the hormone is linked to a series of problems among them, raising levels of pus, antibiotic residue and a cancer-accelerating hormone called IGF-1. Amid consumer and food industry concerns, 14 years later the company sells the drug for $300 million to Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant, Eli Lilly. Today, it's still used by many conventional dairy farmers.
• 1994: The FlavrSavr, a tomato genetically modified to ripen without softening, becomes the first commercially grown genetically modified food to be granted license for human consumption by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It's taken off the market three years later due to increased competition from longer-lasting, conventional varieties.

• 1996: Monsanto introduces its first biotech crops—cotton engineered to resist insect damage and soybeans genetically modified to withstand the spraying of Roundup Ready herbicide. Today, GE seeds account for 81 percent and 29 percent of the world's soybeans and cotton, respectively.
• 1996: The New York State attorney general sues Monsanto for misleading the public when the company states it's Roundup herbicide is "safer than table salt and practically non-toxic to mammals, birds and fish." This suit ends in a $250,000 settlement in which Monsanto agrees to cease and desist from using these terms in advertising the herbicide in the state of New York. Studies since have linked glyphosate to cardiovascular, reproductive, gastrointestinal, nerve and respiratory damage as well as cancer.
• 1996: Jane Rissler and Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists, predict that widespread planting of GM crops will produce Roundup-resistant "superweeds." Monsanto dismisses the idea as hypothetical. Today, according to an article published in The New York Times, at least 10 species of Roundup-resistant weeds have infested millions of acres in 22 states since 2000. They've been called, "the single largest threat to production agriculture."

• 1997: After the delivery of unlabelled GE soybeans from the U.S. to European ports, Greenpeace-led activists protest in front of multinational food companies across Europe. As media attention intensifies, Austria and Italy refuse GMO imports and France suspends all GMO imports until regulatory legislation can be reviewed.
• 1997: The FDA Modernization Act is signed into law and streamlines the FDA's procedures relating to the regulation of food, drugs, devices and biological products. Critics fear the legislation will encourage more crop deregulation.

• 1998: Monsanto introduces Roundup Ready corn and canola which are promised to increase crop yields over conventional varieties. Twenty years later, studies show this not to be the case.
• 1999: Mounting environmental and health concerns surrounding GM crops in Europe leads big food manufacturers to commit to removing all GM ingredients in EU products. Major food chains in England including Sainsbury, Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Burger King and McDonalds also announce their intention to avoid all GM ingredients.

• 2003: Greenpeace praises the EU for adopting the world's strictest and most comprehensive rules on GMOs. The new system requires that all GE ingredients—from consumer products to animal feed—be traced and labeled.
• 2004: Mendocino County in California is the first jurisdiction to ban the cultivation, production and distribution of GMOs in the U.S. Today, 14 states including California have proposals to require the labeling of GM foods.

• 2005: The USDA approves Monsanto's Roundup Ready alfalfa. The move ignites organic advocates who fear the decision will lead to organic cross pollination. The crop is a mainstay food for organic and non-GE dairy cows and beef cattle.
• 2005: Roundup Ready sugar beets are deregulated. By the 2010 growing season, 95 percent of sugar beet acres are planted with glyphosate-resistant seed. Experts predict a sugar shortage if GM beets are no longer grown.

• 2006:Concerned with the potential impact of GM alfalfa, organic farmers and advocates sue Monsanto. In response, the California Northern District Court rules that the USDA was in error when it approved the planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa. According to the presiding judge, the law required the USDA to first conduct a full environmental study, which it had not done.
• 2010:U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White orders a halt to the planting of the genetically modified sugar beets in the U.S. after determining that "the Agriculture Department had not adequately assessed the environmental consequences before approving them for commercial cultivation."
• 2010:The FDA receives an application for the first genetically modified animal for human consumption. The AquAdvantage Salmon, created by AquaBounty Technologies, has a gene from the ocean pout and a growth hormone from a Chinook salmon, which allow it to “reach market size twice as fast as a traditional salmon. The FDA determines more research is necessary to assess the safety of genetically engineered animals intended for human consumption.

• 2011: The USDA deregulates industrial corn used for ethanol production.

• 2011: A federal appeals court for the North district of California overturns White's ruling to destroy juvenile GM sugar beets. The court concludes that, "The Plaintiffs have failed to show a likelihood of irreparable injury. Biology, geography, filed experience and permit restrictions make irreparable injury unlikely." GM sugar beets are planted under controlled conditions.

• 2011: Despite protests from organic groups and public health advocates, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announces that the USDA has approved the unrestricted planting of genetically modified alfalfa.