150 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2017 SINCE1915 ThefirstissueofSeedWorldwaspublishedin1915.Heretheeditorswilltakeyoubackintimeto explorethenumbers,newsandissuesthatimpactedtheseedindustry—allcoveredbySeedWorld. 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1973 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 1998 1999 2000 2005 2010 2015 Creation of the first genetically engineered (GE) organism 1980: U.S. Supreme Court allows patenting of GE organisms 1996: Herbicide- resistant crops introduced A MOMENT IN TIME The cover of our August 1999 issue shows the process of analyzing corn protein using gel electrophoresis, “which is but one aspect of the biotechnology revolution sweeping the seed industry.” This edition covered issues surrounding GM products. In July of that year, U.S. agriculture secretary Dan Glickman addressed the issue of consumer acceptance of biotechnology in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. “We need to examine all our laws and policies to ensure that, in the rush to bring biotech products to market, small and medium- sized family farmers are not simply plowed under. We will need to integrate issues like privatization of genetic resources, patent holders’ rights and public research to see if our approach is helping or harming the public good and family farmers.” FACTS AND FIGURES FROM THIS 1999 ISSUE: 70 million is the number of bushels of U.S. corn sold to Europe in 1997. Sales would drop to 3 million bushels the following year. $1.5 million is the amount of money used to kick off a fundraising campaign to build the Seed Biotechnology Center at the University of California — Davis in 1999. 95% is the amount of GMO corn planted in the United States in 1999. 42 is the number of member agencies that make up the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) in 1999. 40,000 is the number of grain handling operations surveyed for the development of ASTA’s GMO corn purchasers’ database Environmental Protection Agency approves the first insecticide-producing crop 2002: A tomato is genetically engineered to boost its levels of good-for-the-body lycopene — the first food to be nutritionally improved with the help of biotechnology