Genetically modified (GM) maize is big business globally. In 2011, farmers grew about 51 million hectares of GM maize. Most of this production happened in the United States where the majority of GM crops are being grown. There are just four major GM crops grown in the world today and maize and soya make up the bulk of these.

We have been told that GM crops are the answer to world hunger but the majority of this maize is not grown for food. It is grown mostly for animal feed and shipped around the world by massive agricultural commodity trading companies such as Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Bunge.

These grain trading companies are some of the wealthiest corporations in the world. In 2010, these three companies together earned about 200 billion US dollars from trading maize, soya and other grain crops on the global market. Makes you wonder, do GM crops feed hungry people or hungry corporations?

Read the fact sheet here.