Global History

                       With advances in molecular biology techniques in the early 1970s, scientists gained the ability to move DNA between organisms. In 1971, the first genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were developed. For the next two decades, scientists worked to refine their knowledge and insert desired traits into important crops. The first genes transferred were designed to increase disease and pest resistance.
     The first field trials occurred in 1986 in herbicide resistant tobacco in the US and France. Since then, more than 56 crops have been tested in 34 different countries. 91% of trials have been in industrialized nations, with only 9% in the lesser developed countries.
     Commercial production of GMOs began in China in the early 1990s with the sale of virus resistant tobacco and tomatoes. The US was the first industrialized nation to allow GMOs on the commercial market, with the 1994 release of the Flavr Savr delayed-ripening tomato by Calgene. World acreage in GM crops has increased dramatically each year since then, with 4.3 million acres in 1996 leaping to 27.5 million acres in 1997.
     Concerns about biosafety led to the implementation of government regulatory procedures. Nations have varied widely in their response to biotechnology, with different levels of consumer acceptance and public trust. Government regulatory approaches have spanned the range from promotional to prohibitive. While the US has generally had high levels of public confidence and market acceptance, the European Union has had both stricter regulation and more public criticism.

This information was drawn from the following site:

Global Review of the Field Testing and Commercialization of Transgenic Plants: 1986 to 1995: The First Decade of Crop Biotechnology ISAAA Brief No.1 by C. James and A.F. Krattiger
http://www.isaaa.org/publications_download/brief%201.pdf

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