In 2007, the biggest growth in genetically engineered agriculture occurred in the developing world.

Farmers in 12 developing countries planted biotech crops in 2007. For the first time, these countries outnumbered the industrialized countries where such crops are grown.

282.3 million acres of the world’s cropland were planted with GM soybeans, corn, cotton and other crops in 2007, an increase of about 12 percent from the previous year.

However, American farms continued to dominate biotech agriculture, devoting more than 142 million acres to GM crops. Argentina led developing countries with 47.2 million acres, and Brazil was second with just over 37 million acres.