Over the last years, various GM crops with health benefits have been developed in which genes, mostly originating from other organisms, have been added. Notable examples include rice enriched with pro-vitamin A (also known as ‘Golden Rice’) and folate-enriched rice, developed at Ghent University.
Fifteen years after the development of ‘Golden Rice’, which was the first GMO with health benefits, the developers of such transgenic biofortified crops have little reason to celebrate. To date, none of these GMOs are approved for cultivation, unlike GMOs with agronomic traits. Despite this, six major staple crops have been successfully biofortified with one or more vitamins or minerals. Clearly, these GMOs with health benefits have great potential. In a recent study, from Ghent University, not only the impact of GM crops on human health, but also their market potential was convincingly demonstrated.
Market potential
Research at UGent reveals that consumers are willing to pay more for GMOs with health benefits, with premiums ranging from 20 percent to 70 percent. This differs from GMOs with farmer benefits, which are only accepted by consumers when they are offered at a discount.
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